System that boosts metal extactor production based on the effectiveness of the energy producing buildings on the grid covering the metal extractor(s). Most useful when you’re prevented from building more metal extractors because building more metal extractors is, generally, a more efficient way of increasing your metal income.
Play of the Game: Around 14:30 when Louis micros his 3 Phantoms to take out the Stinger and Stardust turrets that were eating through my units that weren’t equipped to handle these static defenses.
Early you want to have a ratio of one solar collector for each metal extractor you have. Metal extractors require energy to extract metal.
-You can leverage the Area Mex (short for metal extractor) Command (W by default) while holding CTRL (adding SHIFT if needed to add/subtract commands rather than set them) to send your commander into the middle of map making metal extractors with a solar collector next to each one.
Then, you can use SHIFT+SPACE to construct Lotus or Picket turrets next to each extractor. Holding SHIFT+SPACE while queing a construction places it in a reasonable place in the build queue based on its location.
In the first few minutes of the game, there’s nothing on the map that can threaten your commander so don’t be afraid to send it out as a vanguard for your early-game expansion. After the first few minutes, if the enemy has been able to amass an army capable of taking down your commander then what have you been doing this whole time? Either you should have more than enough units to protect your commander by now or you should have been harassing the enemy enough with cheaper units to prevent them from building a commander-killing army.
If you’re really scared of your commander dying, then pick the Recon commander. It’s the fastest of the commanders and has the ability to jump away from danger when threatened.
Building more metal extractors is the most efficient way of getting more metal. A metal extractor will pay for itself within 30 seconds while building an energy network to leverage the Overdrive system fully will take much longer to pay for itself.
Solar collectors are the least efficient of the energy producing buildings but unlike the wind generators, they can take a beating and unlike the rest of the energy producing buildings, solar collectors are cheap to build and thus won’t stall your ability to expand in the early-game like the other buildings will.
When constructing buildings, you can hold SHIFT while dragging to place many of them in a line. This is especially useful for solar collectors, allowing you to easily connect your metal extractors into an energy grid to leverage the Overdrive system and thus increase their efficiency.
You can press Z and X while constructing a line of buildings to change the spacing between each of them (and you should because destroyed buildings explode and damage nearby buildings).
Press Z to select any idle constructors, including your commander.
If your commmander is idle, keep expanding with it.
If you’ve got idle constructors:
Help your factories produce units quicker.
Send them out to help your commander expand on the frontline.
Send them out to expand elsewhere, with some units guarding them.
Protect your backline by constructing static defenses.
Connect your metal extractors onto an energy grid to leverage the Overdrive system.
Otherwise, if you’ve got unused metal piling up in your reserves, build more constructors to make use of it any way you see fit.
Shields are cool but damage is much cheaper and so use static shields sparingly and only to protect your most valuable buildings/units. Shields are good on their own but they really shine when used in combination with anti-air units/defenses and an Antinuke.
The static Aegis shield can be morphed into a mobile version of itself after being built.
Area Shields (unlike the “personal” shields of the Convict, Thug and Felon Shieldbots) cost energy to recharge and thus might negatively impact your economy if not accounted for.
Cheap and easy to kill raiders should always be spread out because:
AOE damage is common and cheap and will tear through clumps of raiders quickly.
Most units can’t fire through each other so the DPS of clumps of units will tend to be much lower than when they are spread out.
If your units can’t traverse a steep cliffside because you’ve made a poor factory choice for your spawn/map, think about investing some metal into terraforming. The Special build tab gives you access to a variety of terraforming tools. The easiest of these tools is the Ramp tool allowing you to build a ramp for your units to travel on. The steepness of the ramp will be determined by its length and the relative height between its two end points (green means that all units can use the ramp, yellow means that wheeled/tread units can’t use the ramp and red means that only spiders can use the ramp).
If the AI is bullying you with single small and fast units running around your base causing havoc:
Build Lotus and/or Picket turrets as needed to cover it. Keeping in mind that turrets can’t shoot through your own buildings/units, so place them appropriately.
Maintain a defensive force of fast units spread around your base (and metal extractor expanding units) that can respond to any threats as they appear.
Units tend to have more range when retreating compared to when they are chasing. So when an equal number of the same kind of raider are facing off against each other, the player who is micro-ing his units away will tend to win the engagement.
Screen your big expensive units with cheaper more disposable ones to reduce the chance that they get sniped by Lances or other Anti-Heavy units.
A line of massed Phantoms is not an effective way of pushing fortified enemy bases. Each Phantom will take their shot and then spend 23s reloading, making this tactic weak against a mass of much cheaper units engaging them and a poor choice for destroying buildings quickly. A few Riot units in front of the Phantoms would go a long way to shore up this weakness. Even better, use a mix of Phantoms, artillery and Riot units to much more effectively handle Heavy units, raider units and buildings.
Right click then drag on a building/unit while holding CTRL to tell your units to spread their fire against all of the targets in the area instead of focusing it on each target one at a time. This command is especially useful for artillery and bombers.