Base Building Basics - by Creator, Kur-zaz & Casojin

For all generals.

Many players think that base building is easy and simple and don't pay much attention at it. But it is wrong. You must know how to plan out your base correctly.

First thing you need to pay attention at is the time you need to select a building, the time you need to choose the place for building and the time Dozer needs to reach new building site. Beginners don't realize that all this preparation can be even longer than building time. They spend about 10 seconds to choose a building, 20 seconds - to choose the place and Dozer spends 30 seconds to cross entire base in order to reach a building site. Such players usually see enemy tank force on their base even before they build War Factory. In order to avoid this situation you need:

* to know what should you build and where should you build beforehand;

* to put first building (Power Plant or Barracks) near builder to economy time for moving;

* to follow this rule: at the moment when a new building gets unlocked, builder must be selected and stand near planned building site (for example, when your first Dozer is finishing the first Power Plant, second Dozer must be selected and stand near supply depot to start Supply Center building without delay).

You must also decide if you are going to rush. If yes then builder must go towards enemy to build first War Factory near him. If no then first War Factory is built on your base.

First stage is done. Supply Centers (preferably - two) and Power Plants are built. Rush is completed or refused. It is time to think about defense. Primary targets enemy will destroy is you Supply Centers. They can be defended with other buildings. This is the example of correct defense:

GLA Supply Truck is defended with Arms Dealer and Barracks. So, enemy can not reach it quickly. And besides, Supply Truck will be always surrounded with combat units. Other significant structures such as Internet Centers can be defended this way too.

It is good to build power plant defense as well. Build power plants along the perimeter of your base. They will protect you from incoming shells. You can counter enemy artillery effectively enough hiding your one behind reactors. You can also cover buildings (such as missile fire base and A-10 target designator) with reactors. If you play as USA, then Building Defense Systems upgrade can help against infantry and vehicles. If you play as China - put mines around power plants. They will protect from stealth units and terrorists.

Such defense is especially useful for Nuclear general who has no defense buildings. But he has Isotope Stability upgrade which removes nuclear explosion from power plants.

When you play a multiplayer game with allies, build some structures inside allied base and leave your builder there. It will guarantee your safety. If your main base is destroyed, you can always rebuild under defense of your ally.

In later game it becomes very important to expand your base. In order to attain good money-flow during early stage of the game, at least 2 supply lines are needed. You should expand to nearest supply depot and hold it. If one supply line is disrupted, you can rebuild using the second one. Many beginners don't do it, dooming themselves to death. Another players make another errors. They capture supply sources, but forget to build Barracks and War Factories near it. And of course, they forget to leave a builder there. When such player looses his main base - he looses the game. He continues to get money from Supply Centers, but can not build anything because of absence of factories and builders.

When players reach rank 3, attack general's powers become available. When they reach rank 5, they get access to super weapons. Base building principles change. Early game principle is to defend valuable buildings with insignificant ones. Later game principle is to scatter and duplicate buildings. It will not allow enemy to bring much harm with single super weapon strike. Good base must have not less than 3 War Factories, not less than 3 Barracks and a plenty of Power Plants. Destruction of 3-4 reactors must not lead to absence of power. Black Markets, Internet Centers and Supply Drop Zones must be scattered around your base too. Large base with many scattered and duplicated buildings can survive even Nuclear Storm strike.

It is possible to build a base with the size of entire map. It will become almost immortal. But don't forget that you also need to attack at least, sometimes.

- Creator
- Kur-zaz
- Casojin