Anti-Tank Gun: As mentioned
at the strategies section, the Anti-Tank Gun is excellent
in packs of three, but you can count on it in "single
mode" to give vision range (LOS) slightly superior
to the tough - ie. very good - to other units like the mortar.
BTW, you already know that mortars are the best mobile defense
in the game, dont ya?
Bunker:
Bunkers are extremely efficient when occupied by toughs,
if you want to add some snipers to take incoming vehicles,
better keep them close to the bunker but out of it, and
set them to defense mode to stop them from running into
enemy fire. Up to patch 3 there's absolutely no reason to
use any other unit inside the bunker other than toughs,
except for the early game when you generally don't have
toughs available. Guarding the bunkers with one or two c-robots
behind them (considering the probable enemy attack direction)
will extend your bunker lifetime sensibly if you have cash
when it's attacked. This will generally buy you more time
to eject the toughs on the right moment, if necessary.
Anti-Air
Site: Beyond their well-know anti-aircraft efficiency,
the AAs have the best vision range of all structures, equal
to the spy LOS, so adding at least one in outposts is a
wise idea. If you want to defend from attack choppers, don't
count on a single one, go for two or three slightly appart
on each spot that you want to defend. If you notice the
enemy choppers are having extra efficiency than what they're
used to, be warned: speed and armour upgraded attack choppers
can easily win games by themselves, so try to upgrade your
structures armour to stand a chance.
Defence Tower: If the enemy is investing prioritarily
on toughs, which's very common these days, a single defence
tower with 6 toughs will stop him for sure and make him
rethink his strategy. As in the bunker case, guarding it
with c-robots is very wise. Differently from the bunker,
though, at least one sniper up there is very valuable. Anyway,
always try to surround your defence towers with snipers
on defensive. Another great combo is one shield generator
and one toughed defence tower - really wicked, and keeps
your snipers safe while they "unnocupy" the enemy
mortars!
Gun Platform: Damage and damage radius slightly inferior
to the heavy gun, and more range than a heavy tank, the
gun platform is one of those expensive things that make
you think: "is it worth it"? Well, as most things
that makes you think otherwise in this game, it is, if you
use them RPRT (right place, right time). We can easily make
a parellel between the gun platform / defense tower and
anti-tank / bunker cases - except that the Gun Platform
is a great AA structure. Question to have in mind: can you
really afford the building time of 6 toughs to properly
populate a defence tower? If you're on offensive, you'll
need every single unit on your main attack group, not on
your defense or back line. And there's also the unit limit
consideration we mention on the strategy guide. Sorry, there's
no rule of thumb for the gun platform, it vastly depends
on available resources and map design, so only experience
(and our forthcoming multiplayer maps guide :] ) will be
able to tell you what's the RPRT for it. Ok, one small tip:
whenever you have some cash room, put one up close to your
command center and near the main access to it.
Next: Steel Soldiers Defenses
- Part 2
