Return

Original work done by Willis of LoK
Research Methods

Rule one with research is to never get anything that you don't need, wasting power can cost you the game, as well as wasting the time that research building is putting into getting that research, while it could be researching something of value. When going from T3 there are main points that people research for: Uplink, ArchAngel, Gauss, Dragon, Laser AA.

Uplink for those who do NOT know, is like a sensor but it views the entire map constantly, obviously a must so there are no hidden secrets or sneak attacks on you. For example your enemy could be building a TON of artillery, but with uplink you would know about it and have time to build artillery to fight it. Archangel is the longest shooting artillery, but also has a Long reloading time, it replaces Ripples. Its great for destroying arty since you can build it out of range of anything else, defense is also an easy target for it. Gauss is the most powerful attacking weapon in the game, although Scourge (needed for archangel) has one of the longest ranges, a Gauss can defeat a Scourge. Dragon is the strongest body, and is at the very end of the Body Upgrade Research Line (obviously). Laser AA is the strongest AA.

Although with the exception of uplink, those items in particular are barely used. Its what people need, to get those items, is whats commonly used. Like said earlier, when going for archangel you need Scourge and SAM AA, scourge is a great weapon to have, and also makes for good defense, SAM AA is a strong AA able to destroy the more powerful vtols. Gauss above all else is used for defense, not offensive tanks, but it provides for Rail Gun which is a nice weapon, also you need the basic Heavy Cannon mods to get to this chain of research. Dragon provides for all those useful tank upgrades, and the more favorite Vengeance Body. In itself the Vengeance Body is not used too often, because of production time (same reason for Dragon) but that doesn't stop people from using the body when acquired. Laser AA provides for pulse, a great defense killing weapon.

With these used weapons's, popular defensive structures are Scourge Towers, Gauss Hardpoints and Emplacements, and Pulse Emplacements. The key research items for Uplink are the research modules, sensor upgrades, and Trucks Upgrades, all are all useful for obvious reasons. Other items people research are for their structures,like generators and factories , as well as Walls to strengthen defense. Also when using Artillery, like any other weapon or defense your using, get the upgrade mods for it so it can shoot better and do more damage. Simply put, know what to go for, know how to get it (Tech Tree!!!!!) and for whatever you use, upgrade its capabilities.

In Tech 1 levels, its basically the same concept, but you have more research to go and get before you can reach the bigger weapons. Some of the Key items there are Mantis, Heavy Cannon, and Lancer. Simply look In Tech Tree and start from the beginning of the list to see what you need to get.

Now thats your basic research, there is one other quick thing to realize, its Order Of Operation. There are priority research items to go for before others, and in the beginning of the game those are research mod, power mods, and cannon mods. After those researches are complete then go for your weapons, and your bodies, they are key for getting with the fight. When in team games it works nicely because you can, simply put, get more research done. So maybe with the combined research power, you could do those weapons and bodies as well as artillery. Or what ever but in a game when your by yourself, its important to know what you want, pick your target, maybe uplink or gauss or whatever, and focus on those items putting your research force there, this will be dependent on the game type, if you need to be aggressive and attack, it might be better to do weapons and body upgrades, if its turning defensive, stick to artillery and defensive stuff.

you just have to decide for yourself what you belive would do you the most good in your situation. But above all things, Tech Tree! Learn how to get those items, and if you have a bad memory, print them out on paper so you can just look at it. From the T3 level look more in the middle to the end of the list, find a familiar item and just go from there.