Absolute Annihilation/Units
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 list of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build fast 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 climbs very steep hills.
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.
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 for a level 1 economy, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders, and his main function against larger groups should be to chase them away or into groups of proper combat units. Whatever you do, do not D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.
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
Metal Extractor
The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate. 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 Generator
More expensive than a wind generator, solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This lets them take a fair amount of punishment from level 1 units, 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 Arm Metal Maker consumes 80e and produces 1m, and each Core Metal Maker consumes 90e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the Metal Maker AI.
There are also floating versions of this structure.
Advanced Solar Generator
The Advanced Solar Generator produces more energy than a regular Solar Generator, but has a correspondingly higher price tag. Only useful on maps with poor wind and no geothermal vents.
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.
Energy/Metal Storage
As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since level 2 resource structures in AA come with 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 always be using up your metal as fast as you can sustain.
Arm Level 1
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.
Core Level 1
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.
Common Level 2
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. 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.
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.
Advanced Fusion Reactor
A bigger, better fusion reactor. Only usually worthwhile if you're cramped for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes a very tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.
Arm Level 2
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
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.
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. By building a radar targeting station this accuracy will increase. 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. 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 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 give you information about what is attacking your base.
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 Bulldogs or Goliaths, can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.
Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.
Level 1
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 refered to abbreviated as LLT. They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.
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 nubers. Not an 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.
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, 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.
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.
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 the opposing position if within range. It can be set to "High Fire", which causes it to fire shells upwards that take a long time to hit but can fire over almost anything, or "Low Fire", which causes more direct, more accurate fire.
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 tech to level 2 for a definitive assault, rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.
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.
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.
Level 2
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 excellent 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. The ARM Phalanx and CORE Copperhead are mobile flak cannons. 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 much longer range than regular MT missiles, do more damage, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. Cannot attack ground units.
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 lot of fast, light units (like Flashes, Pyros, or Zippers) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Dominators, Penetrators, Goliaths, etc) while they're chewing on those. A swarm of heavy assault units (Zeuses, Cans, or smaller L3 KBots) can also 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.
Moray/Lamprey
Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin, and practically identical. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels.
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. They fill the same role in the late-game that the Guardian does in the early game, and most enemies will react to a LRPC shelling their base similarly. Don't build one of these without substantial support, especially anti-air defences.
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 cover, 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 (as long as they have ammo) intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range. (Displayed as a circle on your radar) 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.
Retaliator/Silencer
The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear ballistic missiles (which much be constructed before launch) across the entirety of almost any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things can survive a nuke blast, though they can be intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.
Detonator/Catalyst
These tactical nuke launchers are similar to the Retaliator/Silencer, but much shorter-ranged and do much less damage. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, though, making them more practical. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator/Catalyst must build each shot before it can be used.
Juno
The Juno is a much more limited balistic 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. All fire is affected by the field, though your units can fire out if it without a problem. If your enemy gets inside the field, it will have no effect on them.
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.
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.
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 625/650 (Arm/Core) 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 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
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, 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
Slighly 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 are direct-fire, so they 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.
Hammer/Thud
The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which lets them 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
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
The Core has no unique Level 1 Kbots.
Common Lvl 2
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-concieved 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 be very good for helping you recover from a well-executed attack.
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 will not chain-explode, making swarms of them potentially useful for softening up defences prior to an assault. 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 usefull for getting past an enemy's defences.
Arm lvl 2
Fido
A very average level 2 KBot. Average cost, range, armour, speed, and firepower. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. Not worth building in large numbers, it may be worth having a few to support other KBots.
Zipper
Fast 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. Not particularly durable or fast, but if you can get it in range of a target it should do quite a lot of damage. Best against L1 units, which it destroys with ease.
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 opponenets 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. If you assemble a swarm in your own base, you better put them on hold fire or hope your opponent doesn't attack with air, as their rockets will fire up at the enemy planes, miss and land somewhere within your base....
Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope and stop. The defensive 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 then land them onto the defense.
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.
Core lvl 2
Pyro
Core's level 2 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.
The 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. Similar weapon range and power. 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.
Morty
A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range, 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 torpedos 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 near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!
Dominator
Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertical-launch rockets. These are shorter-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.
Common lvl 3
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 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 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.
Marauder
A heavy amphibious assault unit. Fairly fast, and can be very deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shorline 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 byspass enemy defences.
Requiter
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
Krogoth
An Uberweapon. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, but otherwise mostly identical.
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 vulernable 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. Don't try going on the offensive with one of these!
Catapult
This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of unguided rockets. And it really is nearly continuous.
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
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 equivallent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise identical to their KBot cousins. Flashes are currently very cost-effective, and remain useful throughout the game because of this.
Stumpy/Raider
The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are actually fairly tough, and are very good at killing LLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.
Samson/Slasher
The tank equivallent 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 cross 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.
Arm Lvl 1
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
Leveler
The Core answer to swarm attacks 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
Scarab/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.
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 fairly fragile. So 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.
Arm Lvl 2
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.
Triton
A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful for amphibious assaults; that's about it.
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.
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
Deleter
A mobile radar jammer.
Goliath
A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a heft 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. 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!
Croc
A medium amphibious tank, very similar to the Triton. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.
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, but it outranges the Diplomat and fires faster than the Pillager.
Aircraft
Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, heavily armed, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are very specialized, and only good at one or two very specific things. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they're practically useless.
All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them.
Common Lvl 1
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. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces.
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. Do not use these to attack ground units, it's a waste of resources. Mostly good against other level 1 aircraft, though they can work against level 2 gunships.
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 significant 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
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 damaged, 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 very vulnerable to flak.
Core Lvl 1
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 paralyzing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it very vulnerable to flak.
Common Lvl 2
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.
Phoenix/Hurricane
A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present, a swarm of bombers will release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target. 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.
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.
Eagle/Vulture
A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar.
Blade/Blackdawn
A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. These usually aren't cost-effective. It's better to build larger swarms of Brawlers/Rapiers.
Arm Lvl 2
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 anti-air fire, 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. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force with insufficient AA.
Core Lvl 2
Seahook
A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth. Just hope that your enemy's fighter squadrons don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!
Krow
Death on wings. A very tough, very slow gunship-type craft with three heavy lasers.
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
Skeeter/Searcher
The naval equivallent 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.
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
Abel/Caine
A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling land targets. They also carry a battery of veticaly launched missiles.
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, while the Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a shorter-ranged and weaker but much more accurate heavy laser. These ships are fairly expensive, and very weak against submarines and aircraft, so 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 has an anti-aircraft missile launcher.
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 backs 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 seaborne 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.
Arm Lvl 2
Fibber
A sonar-jamming submarine.
Core Lvl 2
Nautilus
A sonar submarine.
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
A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager.
Swatter/Slinger
An anti-aircraft 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. Can't stand up to proper tanks or ships, but is very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.
Wombat/Nixer
A hovercraft with a vertical-launch artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster figher rate, and less 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. Like hovercraft, they're less cost-effective than regular aircraft, but can be vital on maps without enough land to support a proper airforce. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft
Common Lvl 1
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.
Tornado/Voodoo
Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, but counters most other aircraft.
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. Weaker than a Brawler/Rapier, but still effective. 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/Malestrom
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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