Typical game progression - Revision history

72.177.19.194: /* Midgame phase */ Caretakers

2024-05-10T03:58:09Z

Midgame phase: Caretakers

5.146.249.66: /* Playing against air */

2022-01-06T05:19:31Z

Playing against air

5.146.249.66: /* Lategame */

2022-01-06T05:18:53Z

Lategame

SpeedofDeath118: 'Organically'? We could use more common vocab here. Just saying

2019-11-10T14:40:23Z

'Organically'? We could use more common vocab here. Just saying

SpeedofDeath118: Additions, corrections, and editing. The SupCom player was me, btw

2019-11-10T14:35:45Z

Additions, corrections, and editing. The SupCom player was me, btw

Show changes

SpeedofDeath118: Corrected a red link

2019-08-23T16:44:52Z

Corrected a red link

SpeedofDeath118: Corrected a few mistakes. Hey, that last one took an hour, give me a break.

2019-08-23T16:41:56Z

Corrected a few mistakes. Hey, that last one took an hour, give me a break.

SpeedofDeath118: Very big addition, see for yourself

2019-08-23T16:40:52Z

Very big addition, see for yourself

Show changes

84.254.91.146: navbox

2018-08-23T06:14:59Z

navbox

Fealthas: while this is theoretically possible, in practice it never happens. I'm trying to make a serious/realistic guide, so this doesnt fit here at all. It belongs in late late-game like originally planned.

2018-08-17T21:57:24Z

while this is theoretically possible, in practice it never happens. I'm trying to make a serious/realistic guide, so this doesnt fit here at all. It belongs in late late-game like originally planned.

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:58, 10 May 2024
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	Stingers are especially tricky at this part of the game, as they are the first type of tower that can fight skirmishers well. If you find yourself losing ground to skirmishers or expect them soon, it may be a good idea to put up a Stinger. Stingers do not do that well against lots of light units, so make sure to keep building lots of LLTs (or even add a Stardust).		Stingers are especially tricky at this part of the game, as they are the first type of tower that can fight skirmishers well. If you find yourself losing ground to skirmishers or expect them soon, it may be a good idea to put up a Stinger. Stingers do not do that well against lots of light units, so make sure to keep building lots of LLTs (or even add a Stardust).
		+
		+	===Caretakers===
		+	Build enough [[Caretaker\|Caretakers]] that your factories can use all your reliable metal income. Lower some of your assisting Caretakers' priority if your factory is starving your constructors in the field of metal.

	==Lategame==		==Lategame==

@@ Line 118: / Line 118: @@
 ====Playing against air====
-First things first - radar coverage. [[Radar Tower]]s, [[Advanced Radar]]s, all that good stuff. Can't fight what you can't see.
+First things first - radar coverage. [[Radar Tower]]s, [[Advanced Radar]]s, all that good stuff. You can't fight what you can't see.
 Get some dedicated anti-air units and buildings. Each factory has a dedicated anti-air unit - the Airplane Plant has two. There are also five anti-air buildings, which are also highly effective.

@@ Line 137: / Line 137: @@
 *Build [[Fusion Reactor|Fusion Reactors]]. Make sure to scout before starting, as it can stop your unit production for a minute or so. If for example you scout your opponent switching to air or preparing a massive raid, it may be better to make sure you can counter their strategy before building it, as otherwise your efforts may be in vain.
-As with expansion, it is much harder to punish greedy economy building than it is to do it yourself. Try to be a greedy as possible and learn what the safe limits are.
+As with expansion, it is much harder to punish greedy economy building than it is to do it yourself. Try to be as greedy as possible and learn what the safe limits are.
 ===Heavies===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This is a guide explaining how a typical game progresses, after a [[typical opening]].
-This is a general guide. Depending on the factory matchup and the players involved, things could turn out very differently.
+The game can be thought of as being split into a few phases, each with a characteristic set of units and tactical goals - the overall goal of crushing your opponent while remaining (relatively) uncrushed never changes.
-This is from a 1v1 perspective - two players duking it out on one map.
+This is a general guide. Depending on the factory match-up and the players involved, things could turn out very differently.
 ==Raider phase==
@@ Line 10: / Line 11: @@
 *Most of the map is unoccupied by either player.
 *No defences covering most areas.
 Due to this, the mobility that raiders have tends to make them the dominant unit class. When the map is fortified with light defences, raiders are much less useful and it will be time to switch to something else.
 ===Expansion===
-You will want to expand as fast as possible here, and try to grab at least half of the map. Try to have two groups of constructors moving around the map taking mexes. Near each mex cluster you can put some light defences, but do not overbuild defences early game, and in non-critical locations (i.e. not a choke point or the centre of the map). Run around the map with your raiders, keeping track of where your opponents raiders are as well.
+You will want to expand as fast as possible here, and try to grab at least half of the map. Try to have two groups of constructors moving around the map taking mexes. Near each mex cluster you can put some light defences, but do not overbuild defences early game, and in non-critical locations (i.e. not a choke point or the centre of the map). Run around the map with your raiders, keeping track of where your opponent's raiders are as well.
 You should be able to defend your expansion from enemy raiders with some light defences and some of your own raiders. Since raiding properly is considerably more difficult than expanding, you should be encouraged to expand as fast as possible.
-*Try to expand much faster and in a more risky manner than you think is possible for a few games. You might be surprised at how much greed you get away with! It is much harder to punish greed than it is to be greedy. Doing this will also help you learn the safe maximum limits for expansion.
 If you succeed in this phase of the game, you will have a massive economic advantage and will be able to build more units.
 ====Energy production====
-A very common mistake players make is that they don't build enough energy structures. This leads to a situation in which your metal income exceeds your energy income and you are unable to spend all your metal (called "e-stalling"). Having 1 constructor dedicated to only building energy structures can solve this issue.
+A very common mistake players make is that they don't build enough energy structures. This leads to a situation in which your metal income exceeds your energy income and you are unable to spend all your metal (called "e-stalling"). Having a constructor dedicated to only building energy structures can solve this issue.
 ===Raider Usage===
-You want to have good radar coverage of your side of the map and keep your raiders as close to the enemy as possible. This puts pressure on them, and also forces them to keep their raiders near their base, away from your expansion. Against good players you will not be able to do much damage with raiders, but that does not mean you have accomplished nothing by keeping your raiders near them.
+You want to have good radar coverage of your side of the map and keep your raiders as close to the enemy as possible. This puts pressure on them, and also forces them to keep their raiders near their base, away from your expansion. Against good players you will not be able to do much damage with raiders, but that does not mean you have accomplished nothing by keeping your raiders near them. The benefits are three-fold:
 *Because of the threat of your raiders, they are not able to "naked expand" (expanding with minimal defence). If you allow your opponent to naked expand, they will have a massive economic advantage.
 *Your opponent is forced to keep their own raiders near their own base to defend from yours. It can also force them to build more defences, slowing down their expansion and reducing the amount of pressure they can put on your own expansion.
@@ Line 41: / Line 46: @@
 ====Finding a lone commander====
 Sometimes your opponent may be too greedy and have their commander out alone. Likely it is low level, and a moderate amount of raiders is enough to kill it. A fallen commander is a crippling blow to the victim's economy. Some raiders are better than others at this job.
-*Spread your units out right before it dies, as they have a death explosion which could wipe out your raiders if they are really close to the commander.
 ===Why not other unit classes?===
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 For some factories, it is possible to switch to assault units. These units will be able to punch through light defences (unlike raiders) and do some economic damage to your opponent.
 Some examples:
-*Thuglaw - Outlaws and Thugs. This combination from the [[Shieldbot Factory]] is a very potent assault force. It is good against raiders and light defences, giving it the potential to do lots of damage to an unprepared opponent.
+*"Thuglaw" - [[Outlaw]]s and [[Thug]]s. This combination from the [[Shieldbot Factory]] is a very potent assault force. It is good against raiders and light defences, giving it the potential to do lots of damage to an unprepared opponent.
 *Ravagers - The [[Rover Assembly]]'s assault unit. These units are fast for assaults, and can be used for raiding. They are able to eat through light defences, and due to their speed it is harder to position raiders to defend against them.

@@ Line 103: / Line 103: @@
 ====Playing against air====
-First things first - radar coverage. [[Radar Towers]], [[Advanced Radar]], all that good stuff. Can't fight what you can't see.
+First things first - radar coverage. [[Radar Tower|radar Towers]], [[Advanced Radar]], all that good stuff. Can't fight what you can't see.
 Get some dedicated anti-air units and buildings. Each factory has a dedicated anti-air unit - the Airplane Plant has two. There are also five anti-air buildings, which are also highly effective.

@@ Line 133: / Line 133: @@
 ===Light striders===
-Someone putting down a [[Strider hub]] and making either a scorpion or dante is quite common.
+Someone putting down a [[Strider Hub]] and making either a scorpion or dante is quite common.
 *[[Dante]] is very good against skirmisher balls as its incendiary missile ability (the "D-gun") is highly damaging and deals AoE napalm damage. It is also one of the faster striders so it can get into action quickly. Due to all its AoE damage, it massacres riots and raiders as well. It fights assaults decently, but it actually loses to most of them by cost. You need to retreat and repair it to get full value out of it.
 **Be careful with your own units around the Dante. Dantes can deal friendly fire, and burning your own army is not a good thing.
-*[[Scorpions]] are invisible and have their EMP ability. This can be used to sneak up on valuable targets like Commanders or a bunched up set of units, stun them, and then kill them. Scorpions are a support/assassination unit, as their DPS is much lower than a Dante, and also get kited by skirmishers easily.
+*[[Scorpion|Scorpions]] are invisible and have their EMP ability. This can be used to sneak up on valuable targets like Commanders or a bunched up set of units, stun them, and then kill them. Scorpions are a support/assassination unit, as their DPS is much lower than a Dante, and also get kited by skirmishers easily.
 **Scorpions beat Dantes quite easily, especially if the Scorpion can stunlock the Dante.

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:14, 23 August 2018
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	==Conclusion==		==Conclusion==
	Note that this is a general overview. Sometimes people may rush heavies in the midgame, or eco during the raider phase or whatever else. Zero-k is a very flexible game, and there is no really hard or set meta-game like in starcraft 2. Lots of game play is map-dependent or match-up dependent.		Note that this is a general overview. Sometimes people may rush heavies in the midgame, or eco during the raider phase or whatever else. Zero-k is a very flexible game, and there is no really hard or set meta-game like in starcraft 2. Lots of game play is map-dependent or match-up dependent.
		+
		+	{{Navbox manual}}

@@ Line 110: / Line 110: @@
 ===Eco===
 If things have stabilized in the midgame, it may be time to build some eco.
-*Build all the available geothermal power plants(they are super efficient!). If you feel that some are very safely located, upgrade them. Upgraded geothermals will often pay for themselves within just 3-4 minutes. As a bonus, they explode violently on their death. If the area is clear of allies, they can make for a nasty surprise to nearby enemies. When followed by a quick reclaim and rebuild, this will give an additional boost to your economy at the cost of your opponent's.
+*Build all the available geothermal power plants(they are super efficient!). If you feel that some are very safely located, upgrade them.
-*Connect your energy grid together. The more mexes you connect, the more efficiently energy will be used and the more metal you will have.
+**Upgraded geothermals will often pay for themselves within just 3-4 minutes. As a bonus, they explode violently on their death. If the area is clear of allies, they can make for a nasty surprise to nearby enemies. When followed by a quick reclaim and rebuild, this will give an additional boost to your economy at the cost of your opponent's.
 **Overdrive is VERY efficient at low levels of energy. Something like 2 e/s can increase production 50%.
-*Build fusion or even singularity energy reactors. While the latter is a rather big investment to make for something that can blow up your base, if you can manage to defend it will pay for itself many times.
+*Build fusion energy reactors. Make sure to scout before starting, as it can stop your unit production for a minute or so. If for example you scout your opponent switching to air or preparing a massive raid, it may be better to make sure you can counter their strategy before ecoing, as otherwise you might take heavy damage.
 As with expansion, it is much harder to punish greedy eco-ing than it is to do it yourself. Try to be a greedy as possible and learn what the safe limits are.