What do you think is the strongest blueprint for the engineer for 1v1 in Zero-K?
Here is my opinion.
I instantly disqualify fast units.
Fast units can be built at the factory and will reach the frontline in no time.
You could make a case for having raiders as a blueprint as an emergency measure if you lose your factory, but I think it is better to plan for success rather than desperate measures. In teamgames, it can be really useful to build a raider of your preference though.
Expensive units are best avoided as you typically want something to be built quickly as enemy troop movements can interrupt your construction before it finishes.
Generally, I think that slow riots, slow skirmishers or slow artillery are the best candidates for bluprinting.
Strongest Engineer Blueprint in 1v1
Cloaky:
Reaver. Reaver is slow and using Reavers on the front to push and surprising the enemy can be really useful.
Strong contender:
Sling. It is really useful for winning commander turret duels when you are trying to spam lotus turrets and pickets to win the duel. Get a few Slings and you should win any porc building contest.
Contender:
Imp. Building and Imp right next to your commander can surprise your enemy and prevent him from being overrun by raiders.
Shieldbots
Rogue. Helps you win turret duels as it outranges Lotus turrets and burst downs Pickets. Combos greatly with Bandits to push the enemy over the whole map.
Contenders:
Snitch. A surprise explosion can be a nice surprise for your enemy.
Rovers:
Fencer. One of the greatest units in commander turret duels. Outranges Lotus turrets and easily beats pickets. If the enemy manages to get a Stinger up you can simply drive around it and attack elsewhere. Great for pushing the enemy or defending.
Contenders:
Ripper. Ripper is not that slow for a riot so you might as well just build it in the base.
Hover:
Scalpel. Decent in commander duels for bursting down Lotus turrets. Is competitive against most other skirmishers and can kill most assaults and riots with ease. Very spammable at the front line if you have a caretaker to support construction.
Strong Contender:
Mace. A surprise Mace can really catch your opponent off guard. Only downside is if you are facing skirmishers. Then your Mace will struggle to contend with those.
Weak contender:
Claymore. Claymore is still pretty fast, but in some situations, you just want a strong riot on the frontline in short order. Claymore bombs can also go over walls so you can dig it down or use trench warfare to your advantage.
Tank:
Tank doesn't really have any good units to blueprint as most units are fast or expensive.
Welder. Personally I prefer Welder as it is somewhat cheap to make and it can provide survivable buildpower so that you can win commander duels or expand on the map.
Contenders:
Ogre. It is generally too expensive to make at the frontline and it is decently fast anyway.
Emissary. Emissary is kinda expensive but if you have some extra buildpower on the frontline, you can build it in elevated positions that are hard to reach.
Jumpbots:
Moderator. Moderator is kinda slow so making it the front makes sense. It is very spammable in some matchups like against tanks. It is pretty good against Lotus turrets but is fragile. If you slow the enemy commander, you might just be able to overrun it with Pyros or run it down with your commander.
Contenders:
Placeholder. One placeholder can surprise the enemy and you might be able to catch an expensive enemy unit and finish it off with Pyros or your commander.
Skuttle. Is very slow. Can be used to assassinate the enemy commander unexpectedly.
Spiders:
Redback. Redback is slow so making it at the front makes sense. You might also be able to use it's all-terrain ability to circumvent defenses and hit the enemy from unexpected angles dealing huge amounts of damage in a short amount of time.
Weak contender:
Recluse. Recluse is kinda expensive and inaccurate so it is unlikely to help you win commander turret duels.
Amphbot:
Bulkhead. Bulkhead straight up lets you win commander turret duels and is also really good against some units like Fencer.
Strong contenders:
Buoy. There are some situations and match-ups where you probably would prefer to make Buoy instead of Bulkhead. Like if you are fighting shieldbots or Spiders.
Contenders:
Scallop. Scallops are slow and can help protect your commander and they are good later if you want to throw them with Lobsters.
Lobster. Making Lobsters at the frontline has the advantage of building just the right amount without having them walk all the way from the factory.
Gunships:
They don't really have any good units to blueprint as you might as well build them at the factory instead.
Blastwing. Blastwing is pretty helpful at defeating raiders so if your factory is busy building something else, the commander can just build them by itself.
Contenders:
Gnat. If the enemy has some heavy rush coming your way, you can make Gnats to stun the heavy unit or the enemy commander.
Airplanes:
Everything is super fast there... so if you happen to lose the factory, I guess Phoenix is the best unit to make to counter enemy raiders and stuff.
Phoenix
Ships:
Commander turret duels aren't as common on water as ships are simply stronger and faster for cost than most other units and will destroy porc with ease so there isn't that much point in blueprints on sea maps.
Hunter. I think it is best to blueprint Hunter as you might need some extra underwater damage if the enemy makes Seawolfs and you overbuilt Corsairs.
Contenders:
Corsair. Corsairs are really strong but also really fast so you can just make them at the factory.
Mistral. I don't really like Mistral. It struggles to hit moving targets and is easy to distract with a few moving
units in front of your torpedo launchers. I'd rather go straight for Envoys to counter porc if you can't just run it down with Corsairs in the first place.
Do you think there are some strong contenders that I have missed?
