Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Westwood Studios - Part 4 A few hints and tips by James Judge SOVIET UNITS ATTACK DOGS These quick, cheap puppy dogs are perfect for leaving around the base. No Thieves, Spies or Engineers will get 'em and in large enough numbers they could also give a Tanya a few moments of thought. If you are concerned about Spies then get five or six of these patrolling your base - you never know, they may prove useful. RIFLE INFANTRY With a short range and no armour this unit can be destroyed very easily by anything else in the game and even run over by tracked vehicles. Lovely. However, when playing a low-tech game this will be your main foot soldier so build plenty of them and intersperse them with plenty of medics and rocket soldiers to take out heavier resistance. Try not to group them together too much as one good rocket from a V2 or Mammoth tank and the whole lot will be history. Instead, create a wide-spread formation (if you use formations) with as many overlapping killing fields as possible. Otherwise create small units instead of one big one. These guys are only really useful in large numbers and even then only against passive opponents (buildings) or low-powered enemies such as other Infantry or small numbers of Jeeps and Light Tanks. Try not to use at all on higher tech maps. GRENADIER In large numbers these units can prove to be a nuisance for heavily armoured ordinance, and are a good way to clear bases in low-tech games. However, because of their squashability, on a high tech game try not to use them. They have a longer range than Rifle Infantry, but not as high a rate of fire. Use in the same way as Rifle Infantry. FLAME INFANTRY These would be great units - as long as they didn't get shot at. They have good destructive capabilities (especially against enemy Infantry and light vehicles), however their tendency to explode at the first sign of a bullet or shell makes them risky to use - especially as the explosion can damage surrounding units and building as well. Useful on low-tech games, but should be avoided once the stakes are raised. Use in the same way as Rifle Infantry. ENGINEER Another none-hostile unit this. Well, almost. To start with an Engineer or two are useful things to have floating around your base for when an enemy attacks as they provide instant first-aid for any sick buildings. Having one near (not by, as a nuke will take the Engineer out) your Construction Yard will ensure that any sudden damage will be instantly repaired and a second strike won't be as effective. The other use an Engineer has it to either damage an enemy building or take it over. Making an Engineer enter an opposing structure will cause damage to the building and the loss of the engineer. However, if you've managed to safely secure an enemy building and damage it significantly, making an Engineer enter will turn the building so that you now control it! This unit is easily killed, though, and they are pretty expensive in the scheme of Infantry so try not to waste them. TANYA My first introduction to this gal was quick and very unpleasant as a hoard of Tanyas stalked through my almost undefended base, destroying building after building. How I cried. Tanyas are the strongest foot unit available and if you can get one into your enemy's base then she will create havoc. Apart from being able to mow down enemy Infantry (Rifle, Rocket and all the others) she can blow up buildings in one foul stroke, therefore, if used properly, she can be a great offensive weapon. The best way to use her is as with the Thieves using either an APC or LST to get her into the base. If you are lucky enough to get a crate that will give her an added speed boost then you are looking at a unit that will cause serious damage. Even without this, Tanyas are able to crawl through quite a bit of hostile fire before they give up the ghost, so try to get at least one into the opponent's base some time during the game - you never know your luck and this tactic can seriously change the way a battle is flowing. Don't waste her with destroying simple buildings like Radars and Power Plants as these can be taken out by conventional means. Instead try and target the Construction Yard to start with. When this is down go for the War Factory and Ore Refinery. Without a Construction Yard to replace these the enemy will be severely limited. Also targeting a Service Depot will stop them creating any more MCVs and further hinder them. Of course, this is all well and good theoretically, but actually penetrating a Tanya this far into an enemy's base means you are playing against someone who doesn't really know what they're doing at all. Still, you may get lucky... ORE TRUCK The only vehicle without offensive capabilities, it also has the heaviest armour meaning that it can literally go through an enemy's base and survive. Not that you'd want it to. Just that it can. Instead what they should be doing is harvesting ore and the only reason they should be used offensively is if Infantry units are trying to destroy it - then you can move the Truck over the units, squashing them. As these are passive units it is always best to give them some form of guard, normally in the shape of a couple of tanks. They are expensive units which provide a valuable commodity for you, so you shouldn't waste them. Normally during a game I'd have four trawling about doing my bidding and even then I continually run out of money. The number you use is up to you, but remember you'll always need money and the more Trucks you have the better. Oh yeah, you can also get them from crates, but remember to tell them to go and harvest ore otherwise they'll just sit around (the same goes for when they first come out of the War Factory). AP MINE LAYER Once the Service depot is built these little wonders can do wonderful things for the name of death. A couple of these continually sowing mines across an open plain will severely damage all oncoming Infantry, even light vehicles, and can provide an unexpected surprise for the enemy. If you are going to play a defensive game the mines are brilliant on low-tech maps and what I recommend doing is start laying them early on in the game and in a staggered, line pattern like this: X X X X <---------------------< X X