General Tips for Campaign?

[Weeksdw]

Playing on Normal and it seems like im always resource starved and have to find a way to starve out the enemy before i can beat any mission? i've played alot of RTS games and this one is by far the most unbalanced especially in early missions? i must be playing this game wrong?

[Weeksdw]

Well i ended up beating the GDI campaign on normal but i had to switch to casual for 1-2 mission about 70% of the way through.

[Nyerguds]

So, from the fact you mention GDI, I guess you're talking about Tiberian Dawn. Always better to specify that, since this pack contains two games, and they're quite different in a lot of aspects.


My advise is: don't bother trying to starve the AI. It is one of the least fun ways to beat the game, and there are mechanics in place specifically to prevent this, meaning you're not really supposed to be able to starve the AI. So indeed, I'd say you're playing it wrong.

It's possible, mind you, but given the fact the AI gets 19824 credits of tiberium per full harvester instead of 700 (mind you, this is limited by their storage capacity, so in practice it just fills up all their silos and they lose the rest), and they get 100% money back instead of 50% from selling stuff, starving the AI is just boring and tedious. You're just making the game less fun for yourself.

This game, in singleplayer, isn't really about 'control' of economy. Just get a stable economy yourself, set up defenses, and beat the enemy before the resources on the map run out.

The main goal in pretty much every base-building mission is simply to destroy the enemy Construction Yard, and most such missions have some weaknesses in the enemy base, like easy access to attack their power plants, or a back entrance to the base you can sneak into.

If the enemy has multiple Construction Yard, they will generally rebuild the other Construction Yards as buildings (because the AI isn't advanced enough to script the positioning and deploying of an MCV), so then the goal becomes to perform coordinated simultaneous strikes at all of them at the same time. Of course, as always, Engineers are the quickest way to dispatch buildings and prevent rebuilding at the same time.

Beating enemy vehicles is also a whole lot less tedious than dealing with the mass of minigunners the AI gets from selling its buildings, not to mention the fact you don't get any satisfying kabooms. Once I'm at a tech level where I got tanks, meaning the harvester isn't a huge danger that could crush all my attackers anymore, I usually leave the enemy refinery for the last, to specifically prevent them from starving.

If you have any specific missions you have issues with... I beat them all on hard mode, without ever starving the AI.

As for general tips, there's this:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2757302516Teaches you to how to destroy 800 credits tanks while only losing hit points equivalent to 50 credits.

The introduction to my Covert Ops mission guide also contains a bunch of generally helpful gameplay hints:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2417529525

[Mrvecz]

What i resulted in some of the final missions (esp as GDI) is to exploit the almost infinite wealth of AI and just keep mass capping their silos, empty them, smash them, let the AI rebuild them and steal them again and do this till i have a giant army at my base.

[=CrimsoN=]

I am by no means an expert at C&C... In fact. I actually really suck at RTS games. But C&C is the RTS game I suck at the least. I think that is because in essence, C&C is more of a puzzle game when it comes to the campaign. In the classic game, you were meant to lose several times until you figured out the trick to each map or developed a strategy for dealing with the AI.

As previously suggested, trying to out beat the AI in economy is practically pointless because they get a massive advantage. Although, I recently did screw over the computer in Mission 11 of GDI. I built at least 6 or 7 orcas and used them to hit the AIs scavengers every time they left the base. It took awhile, but eventually they ran out of money and I could tell because their silos were empty and they stopped calling in new harvesters. Then I used my orcas to swarm the SAM sites around the base. Once the SAMs were gone, I could attack the base with impunity since the AI didn't have the money to build more harvesters and definitely didn't have the money to buy more SAMs. Like the other person said, it was extremely un-fun and I definitely could have done a better strategy, but I wanted to see if it worked and it definitely does work if you continuously target harvesters.

My general strategy is to just build an APC and at least 3-4 engineers. Build a few medium tanks and humvees and just bum rush the AI's construction yard. The most important thing to know about TD is that the AI can't do ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ without their construction yard. No construction yard means no rebuilding. So without the construction yard, you're free to harass the AI and there is nothing they can do about it. Yeah, they can build more units, but that's it. They can't rebuild their stuff once they lose the construction yard, so it's a slow death for the AI. I don't think this strategy works in RA though since I think the AI can build MCVs, but I don't remember.

I know a real C&C expert would devise a better strategy. But hey, it works for me and the AI is too stupid to counter it.

[The C&C Strategist]

Originally posted by Weeksdw:

Well i ended up beating the GDI campaign on normal but i had to switch to casual for 1-2 mission about 70% of the way through.

Temporarily switching to casual and still having fun is better than hitting a mental block and getting frustrated. Congrats on beating the GDI campaign.

[The C&C Strategist]

Here's what's helped me. Some of appears to already have been mentioned and you may have already figured some of it out.

1. Since they're combustible, if you have to use grenadiers, keep them in small groups and separate from other units. The same can be said for the Soviet grenadiers in Red Alert.

2. If you can, destroy the enemy construction yard first. Otherwise, they'll just rebuild what was just destroyed.

3. If you can, build your base next to a tiberium field to speed up production.

4. If you want to use the tactic of rushing an APC of engineers into an enemy base, try to weaken the base first. Otherwise, your engineers won't get very far.

5. Draining the enemy of tiberium is possible, but it takes a while and you'll have to fend off repeated counterattacks when destroying harvesters which will likely be rebuilt.

6. Why destroying enemy harvesters has at best a negligible effect on overall production, it does force the enemy to prioritize building harvesters over other units to attack you with.

[Cat]

Attacking enemy harvesters causes them to retaliate to defend it. If you don't want to fight enemy units at their base, you can send a force to harass the Harv and lure the enemy units out to your killzone. This also works in Red Alert

Originally posted by =CrimsoN=:

I don't think this strategy works in RA though since I think the AI can build MCVs, but I don't remember.

Actually, Tiberian Dawn AI can rebuild their construction yard if they have another construction yard. The opponent in Red Alert campaign never builds an MCV.

[Noodlesocks]

Being one of the first games of the genre the official campaign maps aren't the best designed. Often scarce in resources that usually end in long drawn out waiting games; waiting for harvester to bring in its load so you can build a single tank or a few grenadiers. Sadly it's just something you have to deal with, really.

[Weeksdw]

thanks for the input everyone. i do see how there is a specific "puzzle" or "weakness" for each level. the main thing i was struggling with is always being poor. if i dont buy units i get killed if i try to buy more refineries i cant defend myself. and usually there isnt enough Tiberium on the map. maybe im just used to having a steady flow of income from Starcraft 2? but i've also played even older RTS's like DUNE on sega genesis and that game was made by westwood studios also and it was not so harsh on the resources as this game is.

[Nyerguds]

See, that's where micromanagement comes in. If you can survive longer with the same troops, you'll have less problems with economy.

[カイラ]

Also you have the ability to slow time to almost a stopping point, you should abuse this to give yourself time to think on your next moves.

[Crypto Gamer]

I admit I abuse AI money "cheat" basically capture their silos sometimes it is in a lightly defended location make a barrack nearby for engineers.

Sell Silos do NOT block them so AI rebuilds them repeat you get tons of economy from the AI money supplies.(AI also has some starting cash just like you which does not need storage.)

Make very big army and kill the AI using the stolen AI money.
APC with engineers is good to quickly capture critical stuff.

Few maps with multiple enemy MCVs you can capture it so they can not rebuild that or you can capture and sell for good money and repeat basically AI using money to rebuild and you capture and sell for good profits.......use cash for big army.......

You can also use minigunners and place them on dead AI building spots so the AI can not rebuild them as Tib Dawn AI is very scripted and abusable......

Attacking harvesters make Tib Dawn AI extremely aggresive can be used if you have strong defensive towers to bottleneck enemy them into a kill zone.

If you can kill multiple harvester AI will runs out of money but it is hard to do as they can not get any cash back into the refinery.

In Red Alert enemy economy seems to work similary to your own.Maybe they get some light bonuses.
And your spy can detect their credit supplies.
You can often starve them out some-times even by accident.

However Red alert AI seems to be smarter and often gets offmap reinforcements likely for"free".

[bratacsga]

When all else fails, there's always the "locking the enemy in their base with sandbags" trick

[Nyerguds]

Originally posted by bratacsga:

When all else fails, there's always the "locking the enemy in their base with sandbags" trick

That's boring though.