Strategy Center

The Strategy Center as it appears prior to Patch 3 and for General Ironside

## Introduction

The **Strategy Center** is USA's own research facility. Its main function is to unlock more powerful units as well as upgrades and provide boost to either firepower, armor or detection range. It is available at Rank 3.

## Overview

The Strategy Center is a hybrid strategic battle control command and military technology research center which has a shape of two small rectangles connected to a short corridor and built on a rectangle foundation base. It also has a "hatch" installed on the below-right corner. What's unique about the building is some of its components can be folded or retracted to reduce space usage. In Alexander's case, she has an Ion Reactor to produce some electricity.

This structure holds very important blueprints and design papers to allow engineers to develop and produce more powerful units as well as construct new types of buildings (Tier 2 and beyond). It also has numerous upgrades:

* Replacement of Chinook's net with a bigger one as well as installing better extraction rigs from oil derricks and request for more funds dropped onto supply drops.
* Allowance of intensive on-site training when the available soldiers are not called to the battlefield, significantly boosting the soldiers' mastery in battle later.
* Plating of a more durable armor on drones to increase their survivability.
* A new type of composite armor or a prototype uranium armor to improve tank armor.
* Installation of advanced energy capacitors on Centurions for better firepower.
* Installing solar panels on the structures to reduce their power consumption.
* Fitting rockets with Emitters (radioactive-spewing warheads) to make anti-armor weaponry more effective against infantry.
* Replacing US Ranger's assault rifle with a Carbon Laser Rifle to further increase his damage output.
* Installing straight-flow engines on aircrafts to increase flying speed.
* Covering aircrafts with radio wave-absorbing paint and heat dissipating devices to make them permanently stealthed.
* Using PELE Ammunition to increase machine guns' damage output.
* Installing laser guidance system on Raven missiles to increase their damage output.
* Implementing a self-targeting A.I. on missiles to increase range and resistance against ECM.
* Implementing advanced data transmission and better electrical components to reduce effect as well as increase resistance against ECM.
* Installing a drone uplink chip on cyborg or robotic infantries to enable drone support on such units.
* Enabling the production of Angel or Spider Production Line.

Also being a strategic battle control, it has the ability to use a map-wide satellite scan to see the whole map for easier strategy implementation. Besides, it has three types of battle strategies in order to boost USA Armed Forces' effectiveness on the battlefield:

* **Bombardment**: Opens the hatch to reveal an artillery cannon (Ion Tower for Alexander) and orders all production facilities to produce high-quality weapons. Increases damage of all friendly units by 20%. Deployed weapon can be used as a defense mechanism.
* **Hold the line**: Rises up walls made of reinforced cement as well as placing sandbags around the center and orders all production facilities to plate more layers of armor on vehicles including producing more resistant body armor. Increases health of all friendly units by 10%.
* **Search and Destroy**: Unveils a radar on one of the buildings as well as ordering all production facilities to create new types of targeting devices and tracking systems, completely paid by the US Government. Increases weapon range of all friendly units by 20%.

Whenever one of these battle plans is chosen, the location of the Strategy Center as well as the activated battle plan would be revealed to opposing generals. Switching from one battle plan to another causes all ground forces to re-adjust their equipment and to be thus immobilized for a few seconds. If the Strategy Center is destroyed while a battle plan is active, the battle plan will be immediately cancelled and any bonuses conferred by it will be lost.

Although only one Strategy Center at a time can be built per general, capturing enemy Strategy Centers technically allows a general to activate more than one battle plan. This makes it possible to combine the effects of the three battle plans available at the Strategy Center. However, more than one Strategy Center employing the same battle plan does not cause the bonuses they give to "stack".

Strategy Centers may be deployed near the front line and act as a powerful base defense due to their access to the "Bombardment" strategy, which gives them a long-range cannon to deal with enemy ground units. This role is somewhat akin to that of the GLA Palace.

## Upgrades

* **Composite Armor (Ironside only)** - Increases tank armor by 20%.
* **Drone Armor** - Increases durability for all drones.
* **Supply Lines** - Increases supply truck collecting efficiency, as well as money gained from oil derricks and supply drops.
* **Emitters (Alexander only)** - Increases missile damage against infantries.
* **Solar Panels (Townes and Alexander)** - Reduced power consumption.
* **Advanced Energy Capacitors (Alexander only)** - Increases Centurion firepower but also increases power consumption.
* **Uranium Plated Armor (Townes and Alexander)** - Increases tank armor by 20%
* **Carbon Lasers (Townes)** - Units are equipped with blue anti-personnel lasers. Arms the Sentry Droid with a laser gun.
* **Stealth Covering (Granger only)** - RAH-66 Comanches, C-27 Spartans, F-22A King Raptors & F-35 JSFs become stealthed.
* **Straight-Flow Engines (Granger only)** - +30% flight speed to F-22A King Raptor, F-35 JSF and F-18 Hornet.
* **Angel Production Line (Ironhand only)** - Unlocks the production of Angel Class Robots. Spider Production Line will be locked.
* **Spider Production Line (Ironhand only)** - Unlocks the production of Spider Class Robots. Angel Production Line will be locked.
* **Improved Homing Warheads (Ironhand and Alexander)** - Increases the range of all missiles by 20%.
* **Advanced Data Transmission Codes (Ironhand only)** - All drones and robotic units become 8 times more resistant to EMP and ECM. Buildings become 4 times more resistant to microwave beams.
* **Improved Hydraulics (Ironhand only)** - Improves the movement speed of all cyborg infantries.
* **Drone Uplink Chip (Ironhand only)** - Infantries can now have their own drones.

## Assessment

Pros:

* Unlocks all advanced units, even for those which need to reach Rank 5.
* Has numerous upgrades.
* Strategies are valuable in battlefield and are free of charge.
* Artillery Defense can be used defensively.
* Alexander's SC can produce electricity.
* Three SCs (via capturing) allow all three strategies to be used at the same time.
* Strategies are permanent but interchangeable.
* Can reveal the whole map.

Cons:

* Requires Rank 3.
* Can be infiltrated.
* Can only be built once.
* Can use only one strategy at a time.
* Same strategies cannot be stacked.
* Expensive to build ($2,500).

## Trivia

* Prior to Patch 3, The Advanced Training upgrade was available to the all USA Generals (except for Ironhand) just like in the original game, however, it was removed to due balance reasons.

## Gallery

Strategy Center + Bombardment ProtocolStrategy Center + Hold the Line ProtocolStrategy Center + Search & Destroy ProtocolStrategy Center Cameo