Spring - User contributions [en]

Expand and Exterminate

2006-10-07T00:24:52Z

FireCrack:

[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png|center|Expand & Exterminate]]

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

'''Download it here:'''

'''[http://cs.selu.edu/~ssmith/BB/files/Expand&Exterminate%20v0.163.sd7 Expand and Exterminate .163]'''

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1'''
** '''LVL2'''
** '''LVL3'''

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult but are more expensive.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

Most definetly. Dont for get to mix your units as well. <i>-Shadowsage</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

Your increased mobility on the ground combined with stealth can give you as a URC player the option of choosing when and where you battle, a decisive point. As Flintlock said, you can essentially run successfully with any of an aray of play styles. <i>-Neddiedrow</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://cs.selu.edu/~ssmith/BB/files/Expand&Exterminate%20v0.163.sd7 Download Expand and Exterminate .163]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
'''Mod Creation'''
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds

'''TA: WD'''
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds

'''Gundam Annihilation'''
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

'''Final Frontier Team'''
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models

'''The Lost Legacy Team'''
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

'''Additional Help'''
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

'''Alpha Testing'''
*Big Steve
*Cabbage
*Das Bruce
*Dave the Brave
*Decimator
*Drexion
*Guilty Spark
*Over Damage
*Forboding Angel
*Flintlock
*J5mello
*Smoth
*Tenebrous
*Wasp

'''Beta Testing'''
*Sleksa
*WarhammerC
*Cronyx
*Aun
*Kixxe
*Krogothe
*Emmanuel
*Drone_Fragger
*Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate Strategy

2006-08-12T06:06:27Z

FireCrack:

=Overview=

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

''As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. '''-Flintlock''' ''

=Weapons=

Because of the way Expand and Exterminate works, knowig the properties of weapons is essential to sucess. Typicaly the same weapons are repeated across each tech level, with similar properties but increasing effectiveness at higher levels. This section of the guide shows the weapons in groups that denote their purpose, and gives information on the properties of each weapon.

==Frontline Weapons==
Units with frontline weaponsa re what will likely make up the bulk of your army. These weapons typicaly have fairly good fire rates and good damage/second. Their main drawback is that while good in all areas they excell in none. As a consolation for this, however, units with these weapons typicaly can take more damage than others.
*'''Cannon (GD)''' - GD cannons have a fairly slow firing rate combined with a high damage. This combination does, however, typicaly end up with giving a slightly higher damage/second than URC plasma weapons, in combination with their slightly higher range this makes them a generaly supirior weapon. Because these are balistic weapons firing from high to low areas gives a range bonus and firing from low to high a penalty.
*'''Plasma (URC)''' - URC plasma cannons fire much faster than the GD cannons but also do much less damage. The weapons overall damage/second isslightly lower than that of a GD cannon, and they have slightly less range. Units with plasma do tend to cost less than GD cannon units though. URC plasma weapons are not balistic and as thus do not get any range bonuses or penalties from the terrain.

==Support Weapons==
*'''Missile (GD)'''
*'''Rocket (URC)'''

==Heavy Support Weapons==
Heavy support weapons are short range, generaly high damage powerhouses. Some of these gain a damage bonus against base structures making them deadly if they get behind enemy defences. Units with these tend to be able to take more damage than those with frontline weapons, and tend to cost less too. The drawback of these weapons is their short range, alone they can be outrun and eventualy destroyed.
*'''Laser (GD)''' - GD laser weapons are utterly devastating. They have a fair range for a heavy support weapon and an incredible damage potential. At low levels laser units do over twice the damage/second of their counterpart cannon unit, and even more against buildings. A level 3 laser tank does over 3x the damage/second of a level 3 cannon tank. The only thing keeping these weapons from being totaly overpowering is that GD units are slow, so you should be able to outrun and eventualy destroy a laser tank.
*'''Flamethrower (URC)'''
*'''Cannon (URC)''' - URC cannons are very slow firing, very high damage/shot weapons with little resemblence to GD cannons. These cannons have a very high damage per shot and a very slow firing rate.

==Artillery Weapons==
*'''Artillery (GD)'''
*'''Saturation Artillery (GD)'''
*'''Mortar (URC)'''
*'''Rocket Artillery (URC)'''
*'''Heavy Rocket Artillery (URC)'''

==Special Weapons==
*'''Ion Cannon (GD)'''

==Other Weapons==
*'''Torpedoes'''

Expand and Exterminate Strategy

2006-08-12T05:15:33Z

FireCrack:

=Overview=

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

''As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. '''-Flintlock''' ''

=Weapons=

Because of the way Expand and Exterminate works, knowig the properties of weapons is essential to sucess. Typicaly the same weapons are repeated across each tech level, with similar properties but increasing effectiveness at higher levels. This section of the guide shows the weapons in groups that denote their purpose, and gives information on the properties of each weapon.

==Frontline Weapons==
Units with frontline weaponsa re what will likely make up the bulk of your army. These weapons typicaly have fairly good fire rates and good damage/second. Their main drawback is that while good in all areas they excell in none. As a consolation for this, however, units with these weapons typicaly can take more damage than others.
*'''Cannon (GD)''' - GD cannons have a fairly slow firing rate combined with a high damage. This combination does, however, typicaly end up with giving a slightly higher damage/second than URC plasma weapons, in combination with their slightly higher range this makes them a generaly supirior weapon. Because these are balistic weapons firing from high to low areas gives a range bonus and firing from low to high a penalty.
*'''Plasma (URC)''' - URC plasma cannons fire much faster than the GD cannons but also do much less damage. The weapons overall damage/second isslightly lower than that of a GD cannon, and they have slightly less range. Units with plasma do tend to cost less than GD cannon units though. URC plasma weapons are not balistic and as thus do not get any range bonuses or penalties from the terrain.

==Support Weapons==
*'''Missile (GD)'''
*'''Rocket (URC)'''

==Heavy Support Weapons==
Heavy support weapons are short range, high damage powerhouses. Some of these gain a damage bonus against base structures making them deadly if they get behind enemy defences. Units with these tend to be able to take more damage than those with frontline weapons, and tend to cost less too. The drawback of these weapons is their short range, alone they can be outrun and eventualy destroyed.
*'''Laser (GD)''' - Unlike it's URC counterparts, GD laser weapons give a fair comprimise, both fairly good range and damage for the type of weapon it is. At low levels laser units do over twice the damage/second of their counterpart cannon unit, and even more against buildings. A level 3 laser tank does over 3x the damage/second of a level 3 cannon tank. The only thing keeping these weapons from being totaly overpowering is that GD units are slow, so you should be able to outrun and eventualy destroy a laser tank.
*'''Flamethrower (URC)'''
*'''Cannon (URC)'''

==Artillery Weapons==
*'''Artillery (GD)'''
*'''Mortar (URC)'''
*'''Rocket Artillery (URC)'''

==Special Weapons==
*'''Ion Cannon (GD)'''

==Other Weapons==
*'''Torpedoes'''

Expand and Exterminate Strategy

2006-08-12T04:42:58Z

FireCrack:

=Overview=

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

''As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. '''-Flintlock''' ''

=Weapons=

Because of the way Expand and Exterminate works, knowig the properties of weapons is essential to sucess. Typicaly the same weapons are repeated across each tech level, with similar properties but increasing effectiveness at higher levels. This section of the guide shows the weapons in groups that denote their purpose, and gives information on the properties of each weapon.

==Frontline Weapons==
Units with frontline weaponsa re what will likely make up the bulk of your army. These weapons typicaly have fairly good fire rates and good damage/second. Their main drawback is that while good in all areas they excell in none. As a consolation for this, however, units with these weapons typicaly can take more damage than others.
*'''Cannon (GD)''' - GD cannons have a fairly slow firing rate combined with a high damage. This combination does, however, typicaly end up with giving a slightly higher damage/second than URC plasma weapons, in combination with their slightly higher range this makes them a generaly supirior weapon. Because these are balistic weapons firing from high to low areas gives a range bonus and firing from low to high a penalty.
*'''Plasma (URC)''' - URC plasma cannons fire much faster than the GD cannons but also do much less damage. The weapons overall damage/second isslightly lower than that of a GD cannon, and they have slightly less range. Units with plasma do tend to cost less than GD cannon units though. URC plasma weapons are not balistic and as thus do not get any range bonuses or penalties from the terrain.

==Support Weapons==
*'''Missile (GD)'''
*'''Rocket (URC)'''

==Heavy Support Weapons==
*'''Laser (GD)'''
*'''Flamethrower (URC)'''
*'''Cannon (URC)'''

==Artillery Weapons==
*'''Artillery (GD)'''
*'''Mortar (URC)'''
*'''Rocket Artillery (URC)'''

Category:Mods

2006-08-12T04:11:15Z

FireCrack:

<center>'''TASClient Compatible Mods'''</center>
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|align="center" width="245"|[[Absolute_Annihilation|Absolute Annihilation]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[EvoTA|OTA + Evo + better BPs]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[Expand and Exterminate]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Final Frontier]]
|align="center"|[[KuroTA|KuroTA]]
|align="center"|[[Nanoblobs]]
|-
|align="center"|[[SWTA|Star Wars TA]]
|align="center"|[[SpiderPack|Spider Pack]]
|align="center"|[[TA-WD|TA: World Domination]]
|-
|align="center"|[[The Lost Legacy]]
|align="center"|[[UberHack|UberHack]]
|align="center"|[[Xect vs. Mynn]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Gundam_Annihilation|Gundam Annihilation]]
|align="center"|[[XTA|XTA]]
|
|}

[[Category:Content]]

Expand

2006-08-12T04:10:32Z

FireCrack: Expand moved to Expand and Exterminate

#REDIRECT [[Expand and Exterminate]]

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:57:15Z

FireCrack: /* Credits */

[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png|center|Expand & Exterminate]]

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
'''Mod Creation'''
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds

'''TA: WD'''
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds

'''Gundam Annihilation'''
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

'''Final Frontier Team'''
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models

'''The Lost Legacy Team'''
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

'''Additional Help'''
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

'''Alpha Testing'''
*Big Steve
*Cabbage
*Das Bruce
*Dave the Brave
*Decimator
*Drexion
*Guilty Spark
*Over Damage
*Forboding Angel
*Flintlock
*J5mello
*Smoth
*Tenebrous
*Wasp

'''Beta Testing'''
*Sleksa
*WarhammerC
*Cronyx
*Aun
*Kixxe
*Krogothe
*Emmanuel
*Drone_Fragger
*Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:57:04Z

FireCrack: /* Credits */

[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png|center|Expand & Exterminate]]

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
''''Mod Creation'''
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds

'''TA: WD'''
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds

'''Gundam Annihilation'''
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

'''Final Frontier Team'''
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models

'''The Lost Legacy Team'''
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

'''Additional Help'''
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

'''Alpha Testing'''
*Big Steve
*Cabbage
*Das Bruce
*Dave the Brave
*Decimator
*Drexion
*Guilty Spark
*Over Damage
*Forboding Angel
*Flintlock
*J5mello
*Smoth
*Tenebrous
*Wasp

'''Beta Testing'''
*Sleksa
*WarhammerC
*Cronyx
*Aun
*Kixxe
*Krogothe
*Emmanuel
*Drone_Fragger
*Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:55:27Z

FireCrack:

[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png|center|Expand & Exterminate]]

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
''''Mod Creation'''
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.
'''TA: WD'''
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds
'''Gundam Annihilation'''
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice
'''Final Frontier Team'''
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models
'''The Lost Legacy Team'''
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models
'''Additional Help'''
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs
'''Alpha Testing'''
*Big Steve
*Cabbage
*Das Bruce
*Dave the Brave
*Decimator
*Drexion
*Guilty Spark
*Over Damage
*Forboding Angel
*Flintlock
*J5mello
*Smoth
*Tenebrous
*Wasp
'''Beta Testing'''
*Sleksa
*WarhammerC
*Cronyx
*Aun
*Kixxe
*Krogothe
*Emmanuel
*Drone_Fragger
*Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:51:35Z

FireCrack:

<center>[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png]]</center>

<h1><center>'''Expand & Exterminate'''</center></h1>
<h3><center>'''The struggle for the blue planet '''</center></h3>

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
''''Mod Creation'''
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.
'''TA: WD'''
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds
'''Gundam Annihilation'''
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice
'''Final Frontier Team'''
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models
'''The Lost Legacy Team'''
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models
'''Additional Help'''
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs
'''Alpha Testing'''
*Big Steve
*Cabbage
*Das Bruce
*Dave the Brave
*Decimator
*Drexion
*Guilty Spark
*Over Damage
*Forboding Angel
*Flintlock
*J5mello
*Smoth
*Tenebrous
*Wasp
'''Beta Testing'''
*Sleksa
*WarhammerC
*Cronyx
*Aun
*Kixxe
*Krogothe
*Emmanuel
*Drone_Fragger
*Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:45:06Z

FireCrack:

<center>[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png]]</center>

<h1><center>'''Expand & Exterminate'''</center></h1>
<h3><center>'''The struggle for the blue planet '''</center></h3>

=Overview=

[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=Faction Overview=

[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==Global Dynasty==
A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters.

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==United Robot Confederation==
Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==New Initiative==
Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions.

=Strategy=

{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==GD==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==URC==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

=Links=
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''

=Credits=
===Mod Creation===
*Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.
===TA: WD===
*Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds
*Maestro - Provided models and sounds
===Gundam Annihilation===
*Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice
===Final Frontier Team===
*Dopefishhh - Predator Concept
*Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects
*M. Kenyon - Battlestation script
*Savant - Models
===The Lost Legacy Team===
*M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models
===Additional Help===
*Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy
*Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs
===Testing===
====Alpha====
Big Steve, Cabbage, Das Bruce, Dave the Brave, Decimator, Drexion, Guilty Spark, Over Damage, Forboding Angel, Flintlock, J5mello, Smoth, Tenebrous, Wasp
====Beta====
Sleksa, WarhammerC, Cronyx, Aun, Kixxe, Krogothe, Emmanuel, Drone_Fragger, Azu(Azn)

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:32:20Z

FireCrack: /* <font size=5>Strategy</font> */

<center>[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png]]</center>

<h1><center>'''Expand & Exterminate'''</center></h1>
<h3><center>'''The struggle for the blue planet '''</center></h3>

=<font size=5><b>Overview</b></font>=
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=<font size=4><b><dl>Faction Overview </dl></b></font>=
<br></br>
[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==<b><dt>Global Dynasty </dt></b>== <dd>A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters. </dd>

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==<b><dt>United Robot Confederation</dt></b>== <dd>Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.</dd>

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==<b><dt>New Initiative </dt></b>== <dd>Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions. </dd>

=<font size=5>Strategy</font>=
<br></br>
{{main|Expand and Exterminate Strategy}}

==<b>GD</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==<b>URC</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

<br></br>
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

= <font size=5>Links</font> =
<br></br> *'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]''' <br></br>
<br></br>*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
<br></br>
=<font size=5>Credits</font>=
<br></br>
<h3>Mod Creation</h3>

Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.

<h3>TA: WD</h3>

Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds

Maestro - Provided models and sounds

<h3>Gundam Annihilation</h3>

Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

<h3>Final Frontier Team</h3>

Dopefishhh - Predator Concept

Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects

M. Kenyon - Battlestation script

Savant - Models

<h3>The Lost Legacy Team</h3>

M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

<h3>Additional Help</h3>

Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy

Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

<h3>Testing </h3>

<dt>Alpha </dt> <dd>(Big Steve, Cabbage, Das Bruce, Dave the Brave, Decimator, Drexion, Guilty Spark, Over Damage, Forboding Angel, Flintlock, J5mello, Smoth, Tenebrous, Wasp, )</dd>

<br></br>
<dt>Beta </dt> <dd>(Sleksa, WarhammerC, Cronyx, Aun, Kixxe, Krogothe, Emmanuel, Drone_Fragger, Azu(Azn))</dd>

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-10T00:25:57Z

FireCrack: /* <font size=5>Strategy</font> */

<center>[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png]]</center>

<h1><center>'''Expand & Exterminate'''</center></h1>
<h3><center>'''The struggle for the blue planet '''</center></h3>

=<font size=5><b>Overview</b></font>=
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=<font size=4><b><dl>Faction Overview </dl></b></font>=
<br></br>
[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==<b><dt>Global Dynasty </dt></b>== <dd>A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters. </dd>

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==<b><dt>United Robot Confederation</dt></b>== <dd>Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.</dd>

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==<b><dt>New Initiative </dt></b>== <dd>Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions. </dd>

=<font size=5>Strategy</font>=
<br></br>

[[Expand Strategy|Main Article]]

==<b>GD</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==<b>URC</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

<br></br>
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

= <font size=5>Links</font> =
<br></br> *'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]''' <br></br>
<br></br>*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
<br></br>
=<font size=5>Credits</font>=
<br></br>
<h3>Mod Creation</h3>

Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.

<h3>TA: WD</h3>

Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds

Maestro - Provided models and sounds

<h3>Gundam Annihilation</h3>

Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

<h3>Final Frontier Team</h3>

Dopefishhh - Predator Concept

Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects

M. Kenyon - Battlestation script

Savant - Models

<h3>The Lost Legacy Team</h3>

M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

<h3>Additional Help</h3>

Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy

Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

<h3>Testing </h3>

<dt>Alpha </dt> <dd>(Big Steve, Cabbage, Das Bruce, Dave the Brave, Decimator, Drexion, Guilty Spark, Over Damage, Forboding Angel, Flintlock, J5mello, Smoth, Tenebrous, Wasp, )</dd>

<br></br>
<dt>Beta </dt> <dd>(Sleksa, WarhammerC, Cronyx, Aun, Kixxe, Krogothe, Emmanuel, Drone_Fragger, Azu(Azn))</dd>

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Expand and Exterminate

2006-08-09T16:18:41Z

FireCrack: /* <font size=5>Strategy</font> */

<center>[[Image:E&E-wikiheadline.png]]</center>

<h1><center>'''Expand & Exterminate'''</center></h1>
<h3><center>'''The struggle for the blue planet '''</center></h3>

=<font size=5><b>Overview</b></font>=
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|URC units outside a GD stronghold.]]

[[Image:E&E-screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A well defended GD stronghold.]]

The new and exciting mod Expand and Exterminate offers three very unique and dynamic factions fighting for global domination. Each faction has its own design and fighting style that requires players to employ their own style of combat to defeat opponents. All three teams also have their own unique super weapons that offer great strategic difference. Expand and Exterminate is set in the near future that includes many futuristic and even alien-like vehicles for combat.

=<font size=4><b><dl>Faction Overview </dl></b></font>=
<br></br>
[[IMAGE:E&E-GD.png]]
==<b><dt>Global Dynasty </dt></b>== <dd>A tank force that uses brute force to push through enemies. GD uses conventional weapons like miniguns, cannon shells, and rockets along with more specialized laser and nuclear weapons. In a one on one fight, GD has the stronger units but they also have higher costs and build times. Their airforce consists of helicopters. </dd>

[[Image:E&E-URC.png]]
==<b><dt>United Robot Confederation</dt></b>== <dd>Enforces control through walking mechanized units that use stealth and versatility to attack. URC's main weapons are plasma and rockets with both flamerthrowers and cannons showing up on more specialized units. URC units are the best at climbing hills and can navigate high terrain better than any other faction. Their airforce consists of Vtols.</dd>

[[Image:E&E-NI.png]]
==<b><dt>New Initiative </dt></b>== <dd>Utilizies heavy amounts of hovercraft and aircraft to swiftly move and attack enemies, great for raiding. They also expand quicker than the other two factions but those expansions are quite fragile. The NI use exotic weapons such as lightning, lasers and photon systems along with conventional rockets. Includes largest and strongest airforce of all three factions. </dd>

=<font size=5>Strategy</font>=
<br></br>

==<b>GD</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to utilize the GD's greatest attribute: staying power, and minimize their weakness: lack of mobility.

* '''STAYING POWER''' - GD units generally have more armor, better range, and greater firepower than the combat units of the other factions. This allows GD tanks to form a line and focus fire on incoming enemies. GD also has better artillery than the other factions. The higher you climb the tech lvls the more armor hp damage and turrets you get on your units. At lvl 3 GD's tanks are lumbering behemoths with multiple turrets spewing fire in many directions. The key word in that last sentence is lumbering for those tanks are slow so either transport them or hide them till they are in range.
** '''LVL1''' level 1 Specific info
** '''LVL2''' level 2 Specific info
** '''LVL3''' level 3 Specific info

* '''CENTRALIZED RESOURCING''' - GD basic mexes give energy, so you won't need to build a reactor immediately. GD also has a light gas plant that gives the same amount of energy as the mexes. When you're getting around to building a nuclear reactor it gives 2x+ more energy than its closest equivalent (URC fusion). While this means less building you had better space out your reactors cause they go up like nukes. At lvl3 the Gd get the ability to make a Super reactor that produces around 2000 energy. GD also may construct armed mexes, allowing them to more easily hold territory and making raiding difficult; however these mexes don't make energy.

* '''LACK OF MOBILITY''' - Overall GD is the slowest of the three factions. GD's first transport unit is available in the lvl1 air plant and is a key unit in thier plans. Armed mexes combined with the rapid deployment of units via air transports helps minimise GD's lack of mobility. GD light tanks can climb fairly well, lvl2 tanks have more difficulty, lvl3 tanks have horrid climbing ability. At lvl3 the GD recieve a tough armed transport helo. With a little skill (and some pre raid destruction) these will be able to penetrate enemy airspace and drop of their precious cargo.

* '''METAL RAIN''' - GD arty will devastate almost any target save air units. They have an advantage vs any side but they are expensive and slow moving so you must protect them wisely. Lvl 1 arty is good support for your tanks and can help soften up a defensive line before a push. Lvl 2 arty is more effective than its lvl 1 cousin, where as the lvl 1 arty fired straight up in high trajectory, the Lvl 2 can fire both in low and high trajectories. The main difference is in accuracy, with low trajectory having higher accuracy. At lvl 3 the GD gain both saturation artillery and nuke artillery. The saturation arty is like its lvl 1 cousin in that it fires straight up but that is the end of similarities. WIth four barrels this unit puts out a constant stream of shells that is devastating to both static defense and mobile units. The nuke artillery is a devastating weapon if used correctly. You must pay for each individual shell you fire so this is gonna be expensive unit to use in bulk or consistantly. However the power unleashed form this units is devastating. The GD also have a tactical nuke launcher. Similar to the nuke artillery, you must pay for each missile you fire. The main difference between them is accuracy. The tactical nuke is perfect for pinpoint strikes while the nuke arty can and does miss so be forewarned.

GD is all about brute force; avoid your enemies' emplacements if you can, but you can likely roll right over them. <i>-Decimator</i>

==<b>URC</b>==

In this guide you will learn how to properly combine the URC's best attributes, agility and stealth.

* '''CLIMBING'''- To begin, when using the URC faction its best to take advantage of their ability to climb steep slopes and mountains. There are a number of ways to utilize this advantage as you have the ability to attack from angles no other faction can. Its advised that when possible that you should attack from the steepest ground possible as GD and NI units will usually not be able to follow you and your units will gain greater firing range. But most important to URC strategy is the potential for invading bases by avoiding defenses. While GD shoves through defenses and NI runs through it, the URC can completly ignore it by going through high terrian to suprise attack an opponent's base. If the high terrian is steep enough, youre assured that neither GD or NI can build defenses on their hills or mountains around their base.

* '''STEALTH''' - The URC are the only faction to have units that cloak. During early game after you have put up your small economy and unit factory use spiders (cheap, cloakable spy unit that can build cameras and mines. LV1) very early in game to put cameras around key positions and to observe enemy bases. A good objective to keep in mind is to use this unit as your eyes and ears to basically monitor your enemies base for an undefended route that you can use late game to invade. Be sure to build a few battle mechs and a couple construction mechs afterwards to properly expand in early game. During middle to late game, you can use your level two factory to produce a variety of medium strength attack mechs that can both cloak and jam radars. At the cost of this ability however these mechs are more expensive and less strong than its non-stealth counterparts. Therfor its advised to use these units in small raiding parties to disrupt and destroy the oponnents economy. Do not mainly focus them on aiding your main armies in combat as its not cost effective, they are best used for suprising un-protected bases.

As URC you have many options open to you in conquest. Even though I have written guidelines for a suggested play style, you can still win without using stealth and agility, its entirely up to your gameplay style. You may find that using URC as brute force works better for you, as they can operate a highly strong head on function in proper numbers. Whatever your style is, URC can probably fit into it. <i>-Flintlock</i>

<br></br>
<br></br>
[[Image:E&E-screenshot3wide.jpg|702px|center|]]

= <font size=5>Links</font> =
<br></br> *'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5105 Expand & Exterminate Thread ]''' <br></br>
<br></br>*'''[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4381&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (Old) Expand & Exterminate Thread ]'''
<br></br>
=<font size=5>Credits</font>=
<br></br>
<h3>Mod Creation</h3>

Fang - Tirelessly created all of E&E, scripted, textured modeled and sounds.

<h3>TA: WD</h3>

Ground Zero - Provided models and sounds

Maestro - Provided models and sounds

<h3>Gundam Annihilation</h3>

Smoth - Scripting and modeling advice

<h3>Final Frontier Team</h3>

Dopefishhh - Predator Concept

Longbow - Exploding turrets, duplicating scripting effects

M. Kenyon - Battlestation script

Savant - Models

<h3>The Lost Legacy Team</h3>

M3G - Provided textures, sounds and models

<h3>Additional Help</h3>

Decimator - Wrote GD Strategy

Flintlock - Promotional/Biography/Wiki/Graphic Designs

<h3>Testing </h3>

<dt>Alpha </dt> <dd>(Big Steve, Cabbage, Das Bruce, Dave the Brave, Decimator, Drexion, Guilty Spark, Over Damage, Forboding Angel, Flintlock, J5mello, Smoth, Tenebrous, Wasp, )</dd>

<br></br>
<dt>Beta </dt> <dd>(Sleksa, WarhammerC, Cronyx, Aun, Kixxe, Krogothe, Emmanuel, Drone_Fragger, Azu(Azn))</dd>

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Development:Main

2006-08-03T00:03:09Z

FireCrack: /* Modifying and Compiling the Source */

Outlined below is information on assisting with the development of the Spring source itself.

::<small>NOTE: For information about developing a mod (units, maps, etc.) see the [[Mod Development]] page.</small>

Below you can find information on how to work with the Spring source in the current mainline (Windows platform) if you like to work on another platform (Linux & Mac) please look at the bottem of this page under "Multiplatform development"

==Starting Development==
To start development, you will need
#The latest version of the source
#A good code manipulation program
#Compiling your modified source

===Source Code Documentation===
A good place to start is the source code documentation, which can be found here: [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ doxygen]

An explanation on how the code is executed in game can be found in the [[Spring Engine Code]]
page.

===Obtaining the Source===

If you just want to look at the code, you can use [http://svn.berlios.de/viewcvs/taspring-linux/trunk/ HTTP based viewing of the repository]

Another option is to manually download it along with the latest released version of the game. However, for serious developers, a better way would be to download the source straight from the subversion (SVN) repository. This will also allow you to make a patch out of the changes you make to the code, and send it to one of the developers with SVN access.

More information about downloading from the svn repository is available at the
[http://developer.berlios.de/projects/taspring-linux BerliOS Project page]
Two good windows SVN clients are SmartSVN and TortoiseSVN.

Is this still any good: [[CVS tutorial]] ? --[[User:SeanHeron|SeanHeron]] 00:07, 17 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

Almost certainly not if they're using SVN for version control now. --[[User:Egarwaen|Egarwaen]] 22:30, 22 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

===Learning C++===
You will need to know C++ to modify or understand Spring's source code. If you are interested in learning C++, see [[Learning_CPP]]

However please note that badly designed code (code created by a C++ novice for example), will even if working not be included in the spring code. Spring is a large project, and therefore it is necessary to stay away from hack jobs and create general solutions to problems.

===Modifying and Compiling the Source===
See [[Development_IDEs]]. You have either to use the SCons build system that is multi platform, or use the vcproj for building spring in Visual Studio 2003.
Currently the build is actively updated for Linux and for Visual Studio 2003. A list of required libraries as well as pre-built packages of these follows.

*[http://www.boost.org Boost C++ library]
*[http://www.openal.org OpenAL Audio library]
*[http://glew.sf.net GLEW (OpenGL extension loading)]
*[http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/ zlib + minizip]
*[http://www.libsdl.org SDL]
*[http://openil.sf.net DevIL (Image loading)]
*[http://www.freetype.org Freetype font rendering]

*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/sdk/ DirectX SDK] (Windows, Visual Studio C++ only)
*PlatformSDK (Windows, Visual Studio C++ Only)

*[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=49257#49257 Pre-Built package of most of dependencies].
*[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=56846#56846 Pre-Built boost for VS8].

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dev-cpp/devcpp-4.9.9.2_setup.exe Dev-Cpp installer] / [MinGW] Though I would not advise mingw because you have two set it up your self.

*[http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.4.2/python-2.4.2.msi Python 2.4 installer]

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/pywin32/pywin32-208.win32-py2.4.exe?download Python win32 extensions installer]

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/scons/scons-0.96.1.win32.exe Scons installer]

Grab and install the above programs.

'''Set-Up'''

Make sure C:\Python2.4 and C:\Dev-Cpp\bin are in your PATH environment variable. Make sure a MINGDIR environment variable with value C:\Dev-Cpp exists. (Change paths where appropriate.) Set environment variables by: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment variables (for Windows XP), Checkout the TA Spring SVN repository. You will also need the [http://spring.clan-sy.com/dl/spring-mingwlibs.exe Mingw / DevCPP libs] extract to /taspring.

'''Compiling'''

Open a console (Start -> Run -> cmd.exe -> Run), cd /where you checked it out in the previous step, if you use checked it out on a different drive make sure to change drives with DriveLetter:<enter> first then type scons configure<enter>, followed by scons<enter>. Refer to scons --help for options that can be passed to scons configure. Wait, this will take a while. Copy over data files and stuff from official spring to the game dir (where spring.exe is created). Copy missing DLLs from mingwlibs/dll, Start developing.

If you are using Linux, refer to the [[SetupGuide]] to build Spring and get it running.

==Development Suggestions==

Before starting to make modifications to the source, take a look at the [[development guidelines]] which outlines some important things to think about. To find something interesting to work on, look at the list of [[example projects]]. You can also check the list of [[whois doing what]] to see what others are doing. If you do edit the code, please add [[Doxygen style comments]] to the code, which will then enhance the source code documentation.

===How to get your code included===
If you create something that you think should be included in the official source tree, you can send an email to the development mailing list shown at [[Linux]] page. Sending your code in the form of a patch (also known as a .diff file), will make the chances of including it in the main code.
It's also considered standard practice to post one's modifications in the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=12 development forum] and get feedback.

==Multiplatform development==
Current development is done on the portable code only, located at [http://developer.berlios.de/projects/taspring-linux Berlios]
All current and future releases will be based on this code.
The current spring code is being developed on Windows and linux. A mac port is being worked on, as well as other unixes.
Use the mailing list listed on the [[Linux]] page to reach all developers (windows and linux). However if you have a feature request or bug report, the mantis bugtracker is probably a better way.
Development information about the portable code can be found here: [[MultiplatformSpring]]

==Spring Engine TODO list==
There is a TODO list for developers who want to contribute to the engine itself:
[[SpringEngineTODO]]

See [[Glossary]]

[[Category:Development]] [[Category:Source development]]

Development:Main

2006-08-02T23:55:53Z

FireCrack: /* Modifying and Compiling the Source */ Made links to pre-built dependancies more clear.

Outlined below is information on assisting with the development of the Spring source itself.

::<small>NOTE: For information about developing a mod (units, maps, etc.) see the [[Mod Development]] page.</small>

Below you can find information on how to work with the Spring source in the current mainline (Windows platform) if you like to work on another platform (Linux & Mac) please look at the bottem of this page under "Multiplatform development"

==Starting Development==
To start development, you will need
#The latest version of the source
#A good code manipulation program
#Compiling your modified source

===Source Code Documentation===
A good place to start is the source code documentation, which can be found here: [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ doxygen]

An explanation on how the code is executed in game can be found in the [[Spring Engine Code]]
page.

===Obtaining the Source===

If you just want to look at the code, you can use [http://svn.berlios.de/viewcvs/taspring-linux/trunk/ HTTP based viewing of the repository]

Another option is to manually download it along with the latest released version of the game. However, for serious developers, a better way would be to download the source straight from the subversion (SVN) repository. This will also allow you to make a patch out of the changes you make to the code, and send it to one of the developers with SVN access.

More information about downloading from the svn repository is available at the
[http://developer.berlios.de/projects/taspring-linux BerliOS Project page]
Two good windows SVN clients are SmartSVN and TortoiseSVN.

Is this still any good: [[CVS tutorial]] ? --[[User:SeanHeron|SeanHeron]] 00:07, 17 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

Almost certainly not if they're using SVN for version control now. --[[User:Egarwaen|Egarwaen]] 22:30, 22 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

===Learning C++===
You will need to know C++ to modify or understand Spring's source code. If you are interested in learning C++, see [[Learning_CPP]]

However please note that badly designed code (code created by a C++ novice for example), will even if working not be included in the spring code. Spring is a large project, and therefore it is necessary to stay away from hack jobs and create general solutions to problems.

===Modifying and Compiling the Source===
See [[Development_IDEs]]. You have either to use the SCons build system that is multi platform, or use the vcproj for building spring in Visual Studio 2003.
Currently the build is actively updated for Linux and for Visual Studio 2003
You will needs these libraries:

*[http://www.boost.org Boost C++ library]
*[http://www.openal.org OpenAL Audio library]
*[http://glew.sf.net GLEW (OpenGL extension loading)]
*[http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/ zlib + minizip]
*[http://www.libsdl.org SDL]
*[http://openil.sf.net DevIL (Image loading)]
*[http://www.freetype.org Freetype font rendering]

*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/sdk/ DirectX SDK] (Windows, Visual Studio C++ only)
*PlatformSDK (Windows, Visual Studio C++ Only)

If you are using Windows, you can find most of the dependences pre-built in the thread [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=49257#49257 here].

A pre-built copy of boost for VS8 can be found in the thread [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=56846#56846 here].

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dev-cpp/devcpp-4.9.9.2_setup.exe Dev-Cpp installer] / [MinGW] Though I would not advise mingw because you have two set it up your self.

*[http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.4.2/python-2.4.2.msi Python 2.4 installer]

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/pywin32/pywin32-208.win32-py2.4.exe?download Python win32 extensions installer]

*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/scons/scons-0.96.1.win32.exe Scons installer]

Grab and install the above programs.

'''Set-Up'''

Make sure C:\Python2.4 and C:\Dev-Cpp\bin are in your PATH environment variable. Make sure a MINGDIR environment variable with value C:\Dev-Cpp exists. (Change paths where appropriate.) Set environment variables by: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment variables (for Windows XP), Checkout the TA Spring SVN repository. You will also need the [http://spring.clan-sy.com/dl/spring-mingwlibs.exe Mingw / DevCPP libs] extract to /taspring.

'''Compiling'''

Open a console (Start -> Run -> cmd.exe -> Run), cd /where you checked it out in the previous step, if you use checked it out on a different drive make sure to change drives with DriveLetter:<enter> first then type scons configure<enter>, followed by scons<enter>. Refer to scons --help for options that can be passed to scons configure. Wait, this will take a while. Copy over data files and stuff from official spring to the game dir (where spring.exe is created). Copy missing DLLs from mingwlibs/dll, Start developing.

If you are using Linux, refer to the [[SetupGuide]] to build Spring and get it running.

==Development Suggestions==

Before starting to make modifications to the source, take a look at the [[development guidelines]] which outlines some important things to think about. To find something interesting to work on, look at the list of [[example projects]]. You can also check the list of [[whois doing what]] to see what others are doing. If you do edit the code, please add [[Doxygen style comments]] to the code, which will then enhance the source code documentation.

===How to get your code included===
If you create something that you think should be included in the official source tree, you can send an email to the development mailing list shown at [[Linux]] page. Sending your code in the form of a patch (also known as a .diff file), will make the chances of including it in the main code.
It's also considered standard practice to post one's modifications in the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=12 development forum] and get feedback.

==Multiplatform development==
Current development is done on the portable code only, located at [http://developer.berlios.de/projects/taspring-linux Berlios]
All current and future releases will be based on this code.
The current spring code is being developed on Windows and linux. A mac port is being worked on, as well as other unixes.
Use the mailing list listed on the [[Linux]] page to reach all developers (windows and linux). However if you have a feature request or bug report, the mantis bugtracker is probably a better way.
Development information about the portable code can be found here: [[MultiplatformSpring]]

==Spring Engine TODO list==
There is a TODO list for developers who want to contribute to the engine itself:
[[SpringEngineTODO]]

See [[Glossary]]

[[Category:Development]] [[Category:Source development]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:46:03Z

FireCrack: /* Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles, but if you can find an opening in the enemies anti aircraft defences these could drop in a few units that would spell certian defeat.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid areas of the enemy base lacking flak for whatever reason, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover. These are also fairly supicable to fighters, especialy when traveling to or from a target.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers, gunships, and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports, or greater amounts of smaller units. Unlike level 1 transports these can be used in an assault role providiing enemy AA isnt incredibly strong. The ability to drop several units into an enemy base is not to be underestimated.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:41:08Z

FireCrack: /* Dragonfly */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles, but if you can find an opening in the enemies anti aircraft defences these could drop in a few units that would spell certian defeat.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid areas of the enemy base lacking flak for whatever reason, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover. These are also fairly supicable to fighters, especialy when traveling to or from a target.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers, gunships, and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports, or greater amounts of smaller units. Unlike level 1 transports these can be used in an assault role providiing enemy AA isnt incredibly strong. The ability to drop several units into an enemy base is not to be underestimated.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:38:13Z

FireCrack: /* Hawk/Vamp */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles, but if you can find an opening in the enemies anti aircraft defences these could drop in a few units that would spell certian defeat.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid areas of the enemy base lacking flak for whatever reason, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover. These are also fairly supicable to fighters, especialy when traveling to or from a target.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers, gunships, and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:37:16Z

FireCrack: /* Brawler/Rapier */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles, but if you can find an opening in the enemies anti aircraft defences these could drop in a few units that would spell certian defeat.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid areas of the enemy base lacking flak for whatever reason, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover. These are also fairly supicable to fighters, especialy when traveling to or from a target.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:35:18Z

FireCrack: /* Atlas/Valkyrie */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles, but if you can find an opening in the enemies anti aircraft defences these could drop in a few units that would spell certian defeat.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:33:04Z

FireCrack: /* Aircraft */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. Level 2 bombers and gunships can provide a more adiquate dfence against ground assaults. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:32:02Z

FireCrack: /* Aircraft */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos, for instance, can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:30:22Z

FireCrack: /* Core Lvl 2 Vehicles */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:29:57Z

FireCrack: /* Reaper */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:29:22Z

FireCrack: /* Goliath */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. While expensive, a force of goliaths can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:26:31Z

FireCrack: /* Podger/Spoiler */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fair amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:25:07Z

FireCrack: /* Vehicles */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're generaly fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:24:21Z

FireCrack: /* Vehicles */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:22:24Z

FireCrack: /* Skuttle */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, but it can cloak too. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:19:52Z

FireCrack: /* Spider */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Even without it's wall climbing ability to contend with it's paralyser makes it a deadly threat mixed in with other units.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:17:26Z

FireCrack: /* Infiltrator/Parasite */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences.

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:14:51Z

FireCrack: /* Deflector */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a sheild that stops all manner of plasma weapons, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but it cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

The sheild needs to be charged to stop shells, you can determine it's level of charge by how the sheild appears, a barely visible sheild has no or very low charge whereas a bright white sheild is fully charged. The sheild consumes energy to charge.

The sheild can hold it's onw for quite a while against VLRPCs, bur RFVLRPCS can bring them down near instantly.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:07:53Z

FireCrack: /* Radar/Sonar/Jammer */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting facility. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-29T01:07:25Z

FireCrack: /* Radar/Sonar/Jammer */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Units firing on radar dots can gain better accuracy if a player or one of his allies builds a radar targeting centre. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile EMP ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Bulldog/Reaper====

The basic, vanilla level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs and Reapers can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's heavy level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-06T21:04:21Z

FireCrack: /* Metal Generator */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A structure that provides a steady input of 1m at no cost other than initial construction. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile tactical nuke launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Bulldog====

The basic, vanilla Arm level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

====Demolisher====

A heavy tank with a medium-range, high-damage lightning cannon. Very tough and very slow. Best used mixed with other tanks, such as Bulldogs, Panthers, and Penetrators. Like the Bulldog, it can roll over wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's primary level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

====Viking/Cronus====

Short-range artillery ships, with weak, inaccurate, rapid-fire plasma cannons. Intended for cheap bombardment of shore targets and floating structures.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-06T21:03:33Z

FireCrack: /* Moho Metal Maker */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal, and does so more efficently. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure, wich is the most efficent energy to metal convertor of all.

====Metal Generator====

A slightly better metal maker that doesn't consume any energy. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile tactical nuke launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Bulldog====

The basic, vanilla Arm level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

====Demolisher====

A heavy tank with a medium-range, high-damage lightning cannon. Very tough and very slow. Best used mixed with other tanks, such as Bulldogs, Panthers, and Penetrators. Like the Bulldog, it can roll over wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's primary level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

====Viking/Cronus====

Short-range artillery ships, with weak, inaccurate, rapid-fire plasma cannons. Intended for cheap bombardment of shore targets and floating structures.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-06-06T20:57:13Z

FireCrack: /* Metal Maker */

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Metal Maker consumes 100e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure, these ae somhat more efficient, consuming 90e and producing 1m.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a smaller footprint (4x4 instead of 5x5). They cannot close into a more armored form, but they do have more health.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Unlike Moho Mines in [[XTA]], they only cost 25 energy to operate. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Metal Generator====

A slightly better metal maker that doesn't consume any energy. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect by either side. Yes, this means that you can't use radar to detect enemy units inside the area of effect of one of your jammers! There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

In the late game, as more and more of the map gets covered by radar jammers, Dragon's Eyes become one of the most effective ways to keep track of your enemy's activities. They're virtually undectable once built and can't be fooled by radar jamming or stealth, though they still can't see cloaked units.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High trajectory", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low trajectory", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Dargon's Claw/Dragon's Maw====

These are stealthy defensive structures (really stationary units) that can disguise themselves as Dragon's Teeth. When disguised, they can take significant amounts of damage, just like any "pop-up" weapon. If an enemy wanders into range, they'll reveal themselves and attack with a short-ranged lightning cannon (Arm) or flamethrower (Core). When destroyed, they leave behind ordinary Dragon's Teeth.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Arm Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Detonator====

The Detonator fires ballistic EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very good at "preparing" enemy defensive structures or units for an attack. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator must build each shot before it can be used.

===Core Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

====Catalyst====

A short-range tactical nuke launcher. The Catalyst's ballistic missile cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes but do significantly less damage than full-sized nukes. This makes them poor at destroying bases, but very good at softening up an enemy defensive line before an attack.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets have a long range but can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which are shorter-ranged than Rocko/Storm rockets, but can fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though!

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

====Leejen====

A light and fast but totally unarmed scout KBot. Cheap unit, good for scouting ahead of a force for things like stealth units, mines, and enemy defences. Has a very short-ranged radar for spotting cloaked units, etc.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A medium amphibious assault unit. Very fast moving on land, and can be deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile tactical nuke launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units. They are slower than other forms of mobile artillery but tougher, making them good at assaulting enemy defensive structures.

====Triton/Croc====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Bulldog====

The basic, vanilla Arm level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

====Demolisher====

A heavy tank with a medium-range, high-damage lightning cannon. Very tough and very slow. Best used mixed with other tanks, such as Bulldogs, Panthers, and Penetrators. Like the Bulldog, it can roll over wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's primary level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes. A few Arm Stilletos can provide an effective defence against nearly any attack.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapidly move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. They are also extremely effective against gunships, as gunships do not typically have guided weapons. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Be aware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but they'll be back in action practically the instant you stop firing.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force. These units are highly resiliant against anti-aircraft fire, with a relativley high amount of hitpoints, radar invisibility, and flares to deflect missiles. On the offensive it can be used to disable enemy AA or ground turrets, allowing you to move in a more damaging force. On defence it can disable large amounts of small units, or even the large mechs which have no defence against such aircraft.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships. They are also useful as anti-air for early attacks, before you can get/need the standard AA ships ([[#Archer/Shredder|Archer/Shredder]]).

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

====Viking/Cronus====

Short-range artillery ships, with weak, inaccurate, rapid-fire plasma cannons. Intended for cheap bombardment of shore targets and floating structures.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

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