Tips for survival

[Miles Teg]

So the first thing I tried to do is build a big main base with a bunch of defenses. The issue seems to be the enemies getting to strong and eventually over powering the base.

I decided maybe I am suppose to spread out with smaller bases, but it seems like I am jumping between a bunch of them building groups of defenses until they just get overwhelmed.

So now I am trying to decide how this is suppose to be played. Do people wall their bases in or just build walls where the mobs attack? It feels like with teleports you are suppose to spread, do you fortify the bases or just drop them with min turrets and just re-build when needed?

If I try to tech jump the base usually gets clobbered good, but is it better to tech rush and just re-build when needed? it feels like you NEED the upgraded towers as soon as possible.

[3Ddeath]

I make little outposts to mine resources surrounded by walls, gives them something to munch on to buy me time and i'll let them destroy it.

Double thick walls with some wall pieces sticking out, again give them things to munch on

I do layers of walled areas, like I'll wall off important buildings inside the base itself that is surrounded by walls.

Try to get inside rock formations, easier to defend, less wall and turrets needed, use natural chokes.

Lots of mines, your guy will replenish those

That's about as far as I've done, i'm noob

[[OTG] Idemus]

I use a lot of 3D's tips as well as just being heavily invested in my base defense. The spear is GREAT for ensuring your defenses have adequate time to annihilate things (as it slows them down) and using a good clearing weapon proactively (go out and meet the mob before they get to the base) is also very helpful. I also use the sentry gun skill for some extra firepower/target, which is actually surprisingly powerful and you can set multiple. I often put flame towers in an isolated 'cell' right on the side of my wall, that way the mobs can surround it more, cluster and draw the fire of some of my explody type towers.

[icejohn13]

one thing id say is rush repair tower upgrade 2 and artillery towers. get 2 thick walls and pray the turrets and artty can hold its working decently for me ... i have to replace a wall or two sometimes. my biggest threat is the game keeps sending me like 80 big rock golems and those like tall things that spawn hundreds of little bats .... idk the best way to deal with those yet but i just smack em with a hammer and it works

[Sterbehilfe]

This is not Factorio, there are no random omnidirectional attacks. Many missions have scripted attacks and Nests keep sending enemies, but in general all incoming attacks are announced and marked on your map.

Knowing this, there is no point in aggressively fencing in your base or god forbid surrounding it with turrets. Huge waste of resources.

When there is an attack announcement, you have a marker and a direction they come from. They always go for the closest target, that can be your mech or your structures.

So, throw up a fort between your base and the incoming attack. All defensive structures take less than 20 seconds to build, including high tier turrets. Build a wall 2 tiles wide and the best turrets you have researched until then.

After the attack you sell all the turrets, they just waste power and AI cores idling.

Finally, your mech is OP as heck. Just spam grenade launcher and grenade (the ability) and churn through any mass of enemies. If you run out of ammo, you don't have enough armory / ammo factories.

EDIT: The DPS display in the menu is misleading. Explosives do not have their splash counted at all, i think. They are the best weapons.

[NotReallyMyName]

Rush research speed (Communication and HQ), Energy production, resource production, as well as necessary buildings you need for running the energy production, for now I see only value in Sludge and Sas Power plant, then storage, you need a lot of carbon and iron for some upgrades. Once you get the artillery turrets ulocked, research them and build as many ammo storage facilities as you can (initially 6), and 2-3 turret ammo production. On every base build one radar, and at least one artillery turret. Once you have unlocked repair tower, build them in a way to cover most of the outposts without much overlapping much, always build walls, double if you can.
Turrets have distinct damage types, so supplement your artillery with regular and flamethrowers. At level 3, sentry (regular) becomes quite powerful, and still affordable, which allows you to ignore most threats at that point. Just keep artillery supplied with ammo and you should be fine. Just note that artillery is terrible at natural choke points, as they tend to hit rocks and trees if enemies are near them.

[M.M.K]

Originally posted by Sterbehilfe:

This is not Factorio, there are no random omnidirectional attacks. Many missions have scripted attacks and Nests keep sending enemies, but in general all incoming attacks are announced and marked on your map.

Knowing this, there is no point in aggressively fencing in your base or god forbid surrounding it with turrets. Huge waste of resources.

When there is an attack announcement, you have a marker and a direction they come from. They always go for the closest target, that can be your mech or your structures.

Only in the campaign. In survival you aren't told where the attack is coming form until the timer zero at which point small waves spawn and you are given a minute before the big one comes. You only have enough time to sell outposts or reinforce existing ones.

[Zukabazuka]

I found those artillery towers really help defending, mainly due to their range and splash damage.

But man survival is another league for difficulty. The tier of the enemy really just ramp up about 10x faster than story mode.

[Orthrus Dragon]

Don't forget to mod your heaviest hitting turrets (Click on them in edit mode and hit the center button, Toss in the best suitable mods for said turret!) i cannot tell you how VASTLY it will improve what said turret will do lol.

[Donttouchmyhohos]

Originally posted by Sterbehilfe:

This is not Factorio, there are no random omnidirectional attacks. Many missions have scripted attacks and Nests keep sending enemies, but in general all incoming attacks are announced and marked on your map.

Knowing this, there is no point in aggressively fencing in your base or god forbid surrounding it with turrets. Huge waste of resources.

When there is an attack announcement, you have a marker and a direction they come from. They always go for the closest target, that can be your mech or your structures.

So, throw up a fort between your base and the incoming attack. All defensive structures take less than 20 seconds to build, including high tier turrets. Build a wall 2 tiles wide and the best turrets you have researched until then.

After the attack you sell all the turrets, they just waste power and AI cores idling.

Finally, your mech is OP as heck. Just spam grenade launcher and grenade (the ability) and churn through any mass of enemies. If you run out of ammo, you don't have enough armory / ammo factories.

EDIT: The DPS display in the menu is misleading. Explosives do not have their splash counted at all, i think. They are the best weapons.

OP is asking about survival not the campaign. Survival you get very little time when an attack is announced. Unless by mission you are talking about the events in survival