This one is the first levels that may be described as hard. Whilst running through the levels to put this walkthrough together, this level took me several goes.
The first step is to wipe out the satellite uplink which will enable the reinforcements - this is hard because of the greater firepower of the enemy machines, compared to the small strike force you are given.
The best technique is to set up a killing ground just north of the smaller passageway and let the enemies come and annihilate themselves on your units guns. Reapers to the west, rocket ballista with the commander in the middle and grunts to the east. (As normal when setting up killing grounds, set the initiative to high and select stand ground).
Want to see what I mean? Click here.
Make sure that your machines are in a squad (select them all and press ctlr-1) - this is to give them greater accuracy at night. Squad based machines gain targetting information from the commander and the commander has NVG and so can see better at night and hence more accurate. This is true of all night time based levels (ever noticed how wild level 5 knights are at night?)
Wait for at least one triple rocket launching knight to attack, then you can make your move. Click the squad through the passageway, taking care to prevent them crossing paths (which will stop them firing). Once you see the uplink destroy it with the tank. This is your most valuble unit - do not let it get destroyed - it can kill the uplink much quicker than the other machines.
As soon as the uplink dies the reinforcements will arrive in the south western corner of the map. Any surviving units from the strike force may either be run towards the reinforcements OR taken back to where they started from - running them backwards normally yields slightly more time to set up your base to the south.
Select the locator and click the south eastern corner of the map - the locator should find enough mineral sites to last the game (>20000 BMUs are available just there).
One constructor should build military factory (which then turns out enforcers as quick as it can) -the other builds a level 2 civilian factory - from this factory you build a couple of transporters.
Stand the george (gorilla) and knights on the corner of the road and wait for the enemy to come in.
Build a couple of mines and smelters and get those transport routes going. Once they are established you need to build at least one more military factory a civilian research lab and a military research lab. Build a couple of technicians and get the researching going.
(The civilian research gives you behemoths (big twin missile turrets) and scavengers).
Scavangers are great for collecting BMUs - much more efficient than mines. Build loads as the enemy will take them out a lot.
Look after your george with healing commanders - you do not get the opportunity to build any more - so keep it alive as long as you can.
Once you have the base up and running you need to hamstring the enemy before they REALLY come at you.
A single level 5 triple plasma knight driven in 1st person mode up the eastern side of the map can avoid the guarding units and destroy the heavy unit factory. No more georges / vortex tanks attacking you if you succeed. This is definately the gambit to play for.
The factories will not be rebuilt. So next you need to stop the knight manufacture that comes at you. Always enter the fortress from the eastern gate (there are two east and west). The next two factories are just north and south of the eastern gate - a single knight for each one (set to low initiative so it keeps on firing at the factory no matter what, is the key) with some supporting friends should do it.
By now the enemy georges should be dead (and not replaced), most of the knights and the knight factories. There are a couple of light infantry factories which should be trivial to knock out once you have killed the big guns.
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