Your top 5 favourite RTS units

[X3M]

How about posting your top 5 favourite RTS units. And tell us what you like about these units.

(Only original units please, super weapons or defences are allowed as well)

Personally I like to put humor in a little 1v1/2v2 game. Or being just super annoying to my opponent with hit and run tactics.

5 From Dune 2, The Building of a Dynasty:

Sonic Tank

With 3 harvesters consuming the complete map overtime, there is room for 22 of these sound-blasters. Talking about surround sound. They do not harm each other, and they al systematic-al annihilate the opponents 1 by 1. They have plenty of range for destroying the Rocket Turrets. And in comparison with Rocket Launchers, they actually hit every time. They can be build before the research is done for getting Siege Tanks.

Only air can defeat these tanks. Luckily a simple Rocket Turret island can reclaim the air to breathe.

Is it just me, or is this tank clumsy in the other 2 Dune games?

4 From Emperor Battle for Dune:

Ordos APC

Can't touch this.

Over here, over there, can't touch this.

You almost got me there!

Can't touch...

this.

(Same score for the Terran Vulture from Starcraft/Broodwar and many Hoover units with big rockets from Warzone 2100, sometimes even with Night Elf Archers during the night from Warcraft 3, simply to shadow meld)

I like to use small forces with 3 to 6 units. For optimal and cheapest annoying results. If the opponent has a counter tactic. I simply run away and focus on doing something else. Then to just switch back to the same annoying pattern :).

The more ranking I get, the more fun these units are.

3 From Starcraft/Broodwar:

Science Vessel

Especially against the zerg, this airship is making people say argshit. I always loved to play a terran strategy to push a zerg player in choosing air. Then when he is about to commence a super attack with mutalisks, guardians and devourers. Irridiate, Irridiate, Irridiate, etc.

Opponent busy spreading out? I just irridiate my own vessels and shield them. Then I let them gently touch the zerg.

It also works on ground units if an air unit with irridiate flies over.

Another trick is to shield 1 hydralisk of a group of hydralisks, and irridiate this one.

Right, so you are protoss?

...EMP...

You got Carriers?

...EMP on the defending marines. Then move medics in. Interceptors gone. Carriers relatively useless :)

It works, just try it ^^

2 From C&C Dawn:

Flame Tank

Seeing an entire army of infantry turning into ashes is always fun. Once again, this is the major..."why people think C&C infantry suck"... reason.

I like almost al flame (chemspray) units from the C&C genre, especially the artillery from Generals :)

except the Red Alert counter parts.

The flame units from KKnD are rather useful too.

The Firebat too is fun to have against a tight group of small units.

But the best flame based units come...

1 From Warzone 2100:

With the absolute number 1 flame based unit of all games:

VTOL Retribution Plasmite Bomb Bay

It flies,

it's fast,

it's durable,

it's payable,

it's droppings is more the scale of a small nuke,

it's possible to have 150 of these f*ckers on the map

it's possible to FUBAR your opponent with just 3 of these. (do the maths)

And with one air strike you might loose 1 or 2 if your opponent has commendable anti air.

Surviving units burn afterwards plenty with chances of dying anyway.

:) I like the dark body with red weaponry combo. Especially when I have the black or red army colour.

Only major downside is the duration of the game play needed to finally have the research done.

This Warzone 2100 unit gives a better understanding of the phrase, "The Bringer of Light"

Hmmmm, seems I like to gas or burn things in general.

[Davidu]

The Emperor: Battle for Dune Atreides Mongoose is quite versatile and fast. AA capability also.

The Emperor: Battle for Dune Fedaykin being both stealth and having weirding modules is great. I took out a Harkonnen Devastator with one Fedaykin and a lot of patience.

Starcraft Goliath for quite the same reason as the Mongoose.

[Andrew]

I always pumped out heavy tanks and V2 in red alert 1.

Age of empires 1: cavalry. Horse archer.

Age of empires 2: archers (british long range were best).

It's been a while since I played starcraft1, so not sure. Siege tanks if terran, carriers if protoss.

[MrFlibble]

I always pumped out heavy tanks and V2 in red alert 1.

Not that the Soviets have much else in the vehicle department before you have the tech centre ;)

As for the question in the topic title, I actually realize that even though I'm an RTS fan it's pretty tough to pick a limited number of favourite units :D

For Age of Empires, that would probably be chariots and chariot archers (but not the scythe chariot from The Rise of Rome, somehow I don't like it).

The Commando from C&C as absolutely awesome, and let's not forget he's voiced by Frank Klepacki ^_^

Protoss Dark Templar: a shadowy psionic space alien ninja. 'Nuff said.

Ogres & Ogre Magi from Warcraft II: they're generally cool, and they have some useful spells too.

Obblinox Veterans/Captains (War Wind): just like 'em, dunno why. They actually make some good mainstay fighting units, possibly better than their counterparts from other races.

[X3M]

I am liking the "like it" messages that I got for making this thread.

The Emperor: Battle for Dune Atreides Mongoose is quite versatile and fast. AA capability also.

Starcraft Goliath for quite the same reason as the Mongoose.

Yeah, I like the Mongoose very much too. Its actually the best 'ground' 'attacking' unit for the very last mission.

while the Goliath is kinda weak versus ground.

I always pumped out heavy tanks and V2 in red alert 1.

I still use the V2 as support after getting Mammoth and Tesla Tanks. While the Heavy Tank is being replaced. Just filling all the ranges :)

Age of empires 2: archers (british long range were best).

They where freaking annoying to go against ^^. But having like 50 of them wins the day.

As for the question in the topic title, I actually realize that even though I'm an RTS fan it's pretty tough to pick a limited number of favourite units :D

Yes, I needed a lot of time as well. But which one is the absolute number 1 for you?

The Commando from C&C as absolutely awesome, and let's not forget he's voiced by Frank Klepacki ^_^

I always liked the phrase: "That was left handed!"

Protoss Dark Templar: a shadowy psionic space alien ninja. 'Nuff said.

And now for a magic trick, the disappearance of your marine.

And another one, and another one.

I used squads of 4 ^^.

Bloodlust FTW. They didn't think the balancing out on that one :D. I guess 1 doubles the damage beforehand, the counter is neglecting damage by healing afterwards. But healing was extremely hard during a fight. But in the long run, the healers did win ^^. In team play, blood lust on fully upgraded elves.

War Wind, do not know that game. I will look it up. ;)

[MrFlibble]

Yes, I needed a lot of time as well. But which one is the absolute number 1 for you?

Hmm, I just realized that I'm kind of used of thinking about units in strategy games as parts of a system (although I'm not shy of using packs of units of a single type, if the game allows this as an at least remotely viable tactic). There may also be different reasons for a unit's appeal: it might be very useful or just cool, or both.

War Wind, do not know that game. I will look it up. ;)

It's an RTS by SSI, and it really feels that the guys are more about doing turn-based strategies. The pace is a lot slower than in a regular RTS, even pre-Starcraft, but it is quite fun nonetheless.

[X3M]

I looked War Wind up. It looks a bit like warcraft1. But they tried to give everything a bit to much detail in comparison with the pixels. I guess that's also a reason why dune2 and warcraft1 where better successes. Further more, people didn't like the fact that most missions where more like puzzles. You had to find out what to do. I guess no mission briefing and such.

Imagine Dune 2000, Atreides, mission 6, where they tell you to get to the smugglers base to get the starport which gives you a MCV.

If they didn't put this in a mission briefing, most players would have to guess what to do and would end up saving up a lot of trikes and quads instead of tanks.

Bach to War Wind, the unit you mentioned sounds like the best of it's kind. It is like how the mammoth tank is the best of the tanks and only 1 race can build it. That's why people use that unit the most. Not only is this due to imbalanced properties (unit sizes is always 1, so most fights are "1" on "1" with exponential results in combat) but also the fact it's an OP all round unit >infantry, >tanks, >air. It beats all other units without damage reductions. An anti infantry, anti tank, anti air unit should only do 1/3th on each type. That's my opinion. People don't like those kind of units unless they are long ranged (plus fast if hit and run). yet if the damage reduction for the mammoth tank is not there, people choose these units. Another result; soviets are the most chosen race on land maps. If it's sea battles, only then they choose allied. EA games is bad in balancing multi type damaging units. Westwood however got better at it seeing Tiberian Sun and Dune2000.

Choosing units of a single type: (1 type damage: all flame based units, or 1 type armour: all infantry).

Rather I would like to say, choosing just 1 unit to build.

Mammoth Tanks are a good choice in land maps.

But I find it more interesting if someone chooses a unit which doesn't win the game just yet.

Sonic tanks (especially from dune 2) can win the game with ease, that's why they never get the number 1 positions for me. They feel more like an OP unit thus boring. That's why the other 2 versions got nerved down.

The Flame Tank got position number 2, since it's not the way to win the map. You need something against those tanks. Unless you have like 8 Flame Tanks per opposing tank after destroying the base.

Your choice of Dark Templar is a very understandable one. They are number 9 in my list. Yet they are really situation specific. You don't go mass dark templar if you know the enemy has detectors all over the place. And it's like the Science Vessel is 100% anti Dark Templar (flying, detector, emp, gas) That's why they are not in the top 5.

[MrFlibble]

I looked War Wind up. It looks a bit like warcraft1. But they tried to give everything a bit to much detail in comparison with the pixels. I guess that's also a reason why dune2 and warcraft1 where better successes. Further more, people didn't like the fact that most missions where more like puzzles. You had to find out what to do. I guess no mission briefing and such.

I'm not sure I got your point, War Wind also has briefings and a pretty detailed plot, game play is still rather puzzle-like though, you're right about that. But then again, Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations was also criticized for exactly the same by some reviewers.

If you're interested, two demo versions of War Wind are available: one has 4 missions (1 for each of the four sides), get it here. Another has two other missions for Tha'roon only (link).

[X3M]

I tried the game, And to be honest, I didn't know what I did. Took me some time to figure out what to get as resources. And who is going to get the resources. And the Youtube game play video's didn't help me much either. I tried to find "let's play" video's they actually give more info about the game because someone is talking through it. It doesn't really have the fun factor that I need either. While Dune 2 and other RTS before 1996 for sure had THE "FUN" factor. A game is no fun if you don't know what you are doing either.

Perhaps I didn't see all the units yet? I don't even know if I tried everything yet. It's like getting the MRLS in mission 8 (where you have the base). Not knowing how to build it. You try to figure it out, then give up. Yet you have to wait to mission 13 to finally be able to build it by accident because you want that Ion Cannon.

I also looked up the years of release out of wiki, it's kinda strange to see the years in comparison with how the game looks and feels, it's obvious some creators actually failed beyond understanding. This because other games released earlier are better looking. Anyway, those I played are Red, War Wind is orange, have not played is blue:

1992 Dune 2 (1 unit commanding)

1993 Stronghold (Don't know that game, looked it up, it has better video's then war wind on youtube, way to confusing anyway, but I guess it's worthwhile trying sometime if I can get myself an explanation book)

1994 Warcraft1 (4 units commanding)

1995 C&C Dawn (62 units commanding, you would expect 64, don't you? :) )

1995 Warcraft2 (Released in December right before Christmas, therefore extra selling success, thumbs up for that trick) (9 units commanding)

1996 C&C Red Alert (62 units commanding)

1996 War Wind (? units, haven't tried yet the maximum)

1997 Total Annihilation (According to stories, 5000 units commanding?)

1997 Age of Empires (Somewhat like 40 units commanding? Can't remember)

1997 Civilization (Never played this one, is it good?)

1998 Starcraft (Here we go, 10+ years of my life) (12 units commanding)

1999 Homeworld (Spacey, and certainly 3D, my friend played it a lot, I rather had tanks and infantry)

1999 Warzone 2100 (150 units commanding) (3D terrain influences on vision and projectiles, the best of it's [3D] kind, the first of it's kind, not to mention, design your own units)

So 4 games before War Wind. I guess they started working when Warcraft1 was released. So they had some sort of guidance perhaps?

The graphics, normally I don't care. But there is an understandable difference in graphics between Dune 2 and Warcraft1/War Wind/Age of Empires. Now why age of empires you ask? Sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between some units. This too with Warcraft1 and War Wind. Specially War Wind. But to be fair, I haven't played it much yet.

Anyways, back to topic? If you like. You could choose a game you like, and pick your top 5 favourite units from just that game. If I have played it, I will pick the same game as well. And then choose another game. If you like a certain unit because it has good support abilities, you may choose that unit as well. No need for just getting the Juggernaut types if you don't want too ;).

[MrFlibble]

1997 Civilization (Never played this one, is it good?)

I don't remember any Civilization game that would be in real time, am I missing something?

Speaking of various RTS games, I think you could also check out Seven Kingdoms. It's rather unusual for the genre, but personally I find it quite fun. Just don't judge it by its graphics ;) Besides, it's free.

[X3M]

I don't remember any Civilization game that would be in real time, am I missing something?

Speaking of various RTS games, I think you could also check out Seven Kingdoms. It's rather unusual for the genre, but personally I find it quite fun. Just don't judge it by its graphics ;) Besides, it's free.

According to wikipedia, Civilization was a RTS. But since I never played, I never knew.

I only judge graphics if things are unrecognisable. ^^. And I have to say, Seven Kingdoms actually looks good enough to play. The mini map also look very good. I will try it soon.

But, any thoughts of a top 5 of units from just 1 game?

Or do you have a list of RTS that you have played thus far?

[MrFlibble]

According to wikipedia, Civilization was a RTS. But since I never played, I never knew.

Hmm, I've looked the following articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Real-time_strategy_video_games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_real-time_strategy_games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_%28video_game%29

If there was any statement that Civilization is a real-time strategy game, it had been removed already. However, if you've seen that in a different article, it should certainly be corrected!

If you're interested, you can try C-evo and/or Freeciv, both of which are free remakes/clones of Civilization II, which is probably the most popular title in the series. C-evo is more innovative (i.e., more gameplay changes, new concepts etc.) but it's also of very high quality as a game, and quite well thought out (it's also pretty hard too! ;)).

I only judge graphics if things are unrecognisable. ^^. And I have to say, Seven Kingdoms actually looks good enough to play. The mini map also look very good. I will try it soon.

Nice! Hope you'll like it :) BTW, there's also a sequel with more Age of Empires-y graphics and some gameplay changes. You can get a demo here.

But, any thoughts of a top 5 of units from just 1 game?

Or do you have a list of RTS that you have played thus far?

TBH I haven't thought extensively about top 5 units from a single game although that seems like a much easier task :)

As for other RTS games, worth mentioning are:

The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici (1996)

A classic example of the "German school" RTS, with nice graphics, an intricate tech/production tree and smooth gameplay.

War Diary (1997)

A curious "clone" of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans with graphics quite dated for its release, but with some interesting concepts like the need to trade raw resources to obtain gold (no gold mines), day/night cycle, weather effects, the ability to equip individual units with weapons and items to varying effects etc. It's also based on the historical events of the late 16th century Japanese invasion of Korea.

Knights and Merchants (1998)

Warcraft II meets The Settlers in this medieval tale.

Rival Realms (1998)

Another fantasy RTS obviously (and not surprisingly) inspired by Warcraft II. This one is in a more traditional vein, yet with the addition of a role-playing feature: all units gain experience and level up; this is also coupled with the ability o transfer a limited number of units from mission to mission.

Tzar: The Burden of the Crown (2000)

This game from Bulgarian developers expands on the concepts from Warcraft II and Age of Empires for a quite entertaining mix.

Empire Earth (2001)

TBH I don't like this one. It was supposed to be a successor of the Age of Empires games, but IMO it doesn't even remotely approach the feel of the original games. Some of the campaigns are set in some wildly bizarre alternate history.

Fate of the Dragon (2001)

An RTS that looks and plays rather similar to the Age of Kings, but with a little twist that the cities have their own, separate maps, and the player can switch between the city map where economy is developed and the army is trained, and the field map where forces move between cities, towns and other locations.

FireFly Studios' Stronghold (2001)

This one is of a castle-building variety, making it close to city-building games like SimCity, but the combat element is also present.

Outlive: Robotics versus Genetics (2001)

An okay Starcraft clone with some innovative features. Not very exciting but playable.

Primitive Wars (2001)

A very Starcraft-ish RTS with extremely weird sides that participate in the conflict: primitive humans, demonic/undead creatures, humanoid dinosaurs and Sailor Moon-style fairies/elves.

Warcraft III (2002) and its add-on (2003)

Well yeah, I'm certain these didn't get mentioned yet solely because the nineties were in the main focus :)

Age of Mythology (2002)

Can't say this one is as great as the original Age of Empires but it's more than a noteworthy game nonetheless.

Dragon Throne: Battle of Red Cliffs (2003)

This is basically an updated version of Fate of the Dragon with new missions.

Rise of Nations (2003)

If Age of Empires is Civilization meets Warcraft II, Rise of Nations is Age of Empires meets Civilization. Some of the gameplay elements traditional for the turn-based strategy genre have been quite successfully implemented in this game, and it often feels "familiar but different" because of the hybrid mechanics.

Knights of Honor (2004)

This strategy game brings the idea of turning Civilization into an RTS to the max. Manage cities and expand your kingdom, train armies and engage in diplomatic efforts all in real time.

Rising Kingdoms (2005)

A very nice fantasy strategy game from the makers of Tzar. If Warcraft III were to be made in 2D, it should have looked like this.

[X3M]

The way I look at your list is; you like RTS games which take place in the past.

Are these all game you played?

I only know Settlers II and Age of Mythology.

Age of Mythology seems to be unbalanced with those titans. Since 1 titan could actually wipe out the entire enemy.

Of course I know Warcraft III + add on as well, but it's a given that that game is good. It has fun tactics too.

But if I where to make a top 5 for Warcraft 3. Hero's not included. I like solo unit fun. My top 5 is only Warcraft 3, no Frozen Throne.

5) Orc, Troll Witch Doctor

Vision everywhere, always complete army healing, statis traps around and between your soldiers once the enemy approaches. The perfect support unit for any race.

4) Human, Sorceress

My maximum was always 6, but once I reached 6, the fun started. Disable the auto cast slow. Then focus on using polymorph. After polymorph, I use invisibility on the sheep. That way, my army will completely ignore it. And it wont come visible again until it's able to attack. By that time the others are grinded to dust. This is how big units have their weak point. In the best situation I can divide the opponent in half.

An example: The sum formula is important in a small army game like Warcraft 3. So the strength of 1 army of 12 would be 78, while 2 armies of 6, each have 21. Only 42 total. So even though you are dealing with 2 halves of a big army, since you are dealing with them separately, the enemy strength comes close to 50% anyway.

3) Human, Steam Tank

Lokkelokke! Lokkelokke!. And another structure bites the dust. They are so durable, it's surprising that Blizzard never nerved them. You can also outrun enemy incoming artillery. The Mortar Team has the best chance in hitting you. Yet the next one in this list has 100% hitting chance and still has a siege weapon.

2) Orc, Raider

If your opponent lacks proper defence structures? These puppies are the ones you need in harassing you opponents base. They outrun almost every unit, if not. Esnare!. Even air units stand no chance in catching up. Focus on key point structures, pick 3 and patrol between them. Luckily gold diggers are weak, you can easily kill them as well. If you killed them all, focus on farms instead :). In the mean time, have your barracks and towers ready for the counter attack once you lost your raiders. Or if you retreat, make sure they are safe at your towers.

1) Undead, Necromancer

These can actually summon armies so large, then the enemy stands no chance. Especially when you attack another undead army. This one time I had 45 Necromancers :). Imagine the horror that my opponent had after realizing that his units couldn't approach my main army. He was a human player without dispelling my summoning. And remember, Cripple, Cripple, Cripple, Cripple. "*oddamnit Peter! Now I have to buy another one!"

Sometimes I even used Unholy Frenzy on a retreating unit which was about to die :D. Even though it would do more damage. If it's a melee unit, it still stands no chance in ever reaching my main army.

[MrFlibble]

The way I look at your list is; you like RTS games which take place in the past.

I haven't mentioned the newer Command & Conquer games (Tiberian Sun & Red Alert 2), I keep forgetting to mention them not because I don't like 'em - quite the contrary! - but because they seem to me like something everybody knows about :)

I do like the medieval/fantasy setting in general but of course I have favourite games set in other times and places as well. What I'm not generally interested in is the WWII era, which seems to be quite a lucrative choice for may game developers, with only few games set in that period having caught my attention.

I haven't aimed to bring up the entire list of the RTS games familiar to me, just some that came to my mind. I wanted to mention Star Wars: galactic Battlegrounds, which basically feels like a total conversion of Age of Empires II, but it's kind of a pity that some features in SWGB had not bee used in AoK, like entirely different unit appearances for each side; AoK would have looked much nicer if the common units did not have European appearance regardless of the actual nation that uses them.

Another neat Age of Empires-inspired game (but not on the same engine, unlike SWGB) is America: No Peace Beyond the Line, which uses the Wild West theme.

I think you might find interesting a very obscure Russian indie game that draws inspiration from both Age of Empires and Starcraft called Onimod Land. It features a rather tough AI and a radical differences between the two opposite factions, one being some sort of space marines, and the other a shamanistic tribal society. The author had released this game for free some time ago (the latest version is available at Demu.org).

[X3M]

I have played SWGB too, I didn't like the naval and air units, their fights went way to fast in comparison with the land units. But other then that, the land units where really fun to play with.

But the AI was really dumb for my taste :D, I let them chase certain units until they fell into a trap.

Perhaps I should change the topic title a bit (if it's possible) since we are not only talking about a top 5 of units.

[MrFlibble]

I have played SWGB too, I didn't like the naval and air units, their fights went way to fast in comparison with the land units.

I think it's the same as with Age of Empires II.

[THE AQIB]

Top 5 5. Devastator tank from dune 2k:power at it's best. 4. Titan from age of mythology:wanna crush?? 3.Harbinger from Red Alert 3: it kinda blows. 2.Ornithopter from dune 2k: the bombardment squad!! 1.Giga Fortress from Red Alert 3: who needs the body when this floating face is the ultimate distruktion weapon.....

[Feda]

From C&C Tiberian Dawn: Grenadier. With proper micro management its alot of fun to kill inf with them :D

From Dune2000: Deviator. The idea of this unit looks very good for me. Too bad westwood did poor job on it.

From Red Alert: Tesla tank.. idk why just love this thing. Electricity ftw!!! :D

From C&C Tiberian Dawn (C&C 95) : flame tanks (burn the hell out of those guys) and stealth tanks. I'm pretty much a Nod fan in all C&C games, GDI is a bit boring for me :D

[X3M]

Yeah, the flame tank and stealth tank rule in C&C95.

in tiberian sun however,.. they..... do not comply. The flame tank doesn't really burn structures and the stealth tank isn't really stealth.

In C&C3 they are just overkill in what they do :) And they look really cool. Ow, and I just noticed, the Stealth Tank kinda does air splash, am I right?

[MrFlibble]

From C&C Tiberian Dawn: Grenadier. With proper micro management its alot of fun to kill inf with them :D/>

<...>

From C&C Tiberian Dawn (C&C 95) : flame tanks (burn the hell out of those guys) and stealth tanks. I'm pretty much a Nod fan in all C&C games, GDI is a bit boring for me :D/>

You mean you like the grenadiers in the DOS version better, and the Flame Tanks in the Win95 version? ???/>

[Nyerguds]

In terms of gameplay mechanics, both games are exactly the same. Only difference is the resolution and its hi-res sidebar graphics :P

[Feda]

Didnt play the dos one, only nyer's 1.06 patch on cncnet :P

[X3M]

Let's put this more in a back to topic perspective:
How about ranking all the (for example) grenadiers? :D
There are sure some major differences between them by special abilities.

The Grenadiers that I have seen so far:

8 Sapper/Rioter - KKND
Good against groups of infantry, all else fails. However, they die before even taking a shot. So they fail. KKND is a game where you build the best only anyway. Unless you have so much money that you build more then 1 unit in your factories. Then still the Sapper/Rioter is one of the last choices.

7 Grenadier - Dune 2000
Good against groups of infantry, light vehicles and any structure. Same like the Siege Tank. But then they are an easy target to destroy. However, they can take cover in rocks and they can climb the small pathways just like any infantry unit. But this doesn't really occur in multi player. So they are a rather useless addition in my opinion.

 

6 Grenadier Squad - C&C3
Ehm, in my opinion they suck. Good against infantry says their dialogue. Not at all in my experience. The grenades are launched way to slow to reach moving targets. This includes the infantry. Their only use is when they are in APC's dealing with garrisoned structures, or light structures. But this is in low tech levels. In the higher tech levels I simply destroy all structures with my Juggernauts or other heavy weaponry. I prefer the rocket infantry over them. No, I liked them at first, but I know there are way better options out there. However, since they die slowly as well, they are placed way higher then their dawn and red alert counterparts. And if I notice how the enemy waists money on garrisoning buildings, then why destroy the buildings? :)

5 Grenadier - C&C dawn
Good against groups of infantry, light vehicles and light to medium structures. Upon dying they damage the units around them. Sometimes this results in fireworks. In higher tech, they suck.

4 Grenadier - Red Alert
Good against groups of infantry, light vehicles and light to medium structures. The grenades also leave little fire's behind after the very first blows. I wonder if they actually damage a structure during their burn time just like in C&C dawn. In higher tech, they suck.

3 Mortar Infantry - EBFD
With the indication that these are considered to be "grenadiers". They are now added as well. They are good against groups of infantry, light vehicles and light to medium structures. However, they need to be deployed. The projectile also seems to move very slowly. But the splash and slow moving targets make up for that. The damage is relatively high. And you can place a lot together at strategic points. The only reason they are placed lower then the number 3 in my list is because of their immobility.

2 Disk Thrower - Tiberian Sun/Firestorm
Good (well, better then light infantry) against light to heavy vehicles and light to medium structures (I really think they suck against infantry). They have less chance of hitting infantry since infantry can dodge these disks. Then the disks just roll away. It takes some practise and a keen eye to do this. I always use them from a further distance and let the disks roll to their maximum range. This also takes some practise. The fact that I say they are good against heavy vehicles is because tanks really are slow in this game. So the Disk Thrower simply moves away. They are actually still useful in higher tech.

1 Grenadier (cyborg (=infantry type)) - Warzone2100
Now here we are talking about a cool version of grenadiers. They are the smaller counterpart of all the mortar systems. But then placed on a cyborg. Cyborg amass have the tendency to actually increase damage/square. And they are durable too. Even though they have good damage against fast units, they suck against the tanks that dodge the mortars. Especially those mounted with flame or bullet weapons.
Very steep hills can easily be walked on by any cyborg. So use this to your advantage. They are also fast enough to do micromanagement like hit and run, or hiding behind some heavy tanks or walls. They also can be assigned with success to a sensor tower.

[Nyerguds]

Does the GLA Angry mob in Generals count? :P

[X3M]

Ehm, now that you mention it. They do throw stuff :) And they where actually good.

Do they have the ability to flush out garrisoned buildings? And can they throw over walls?

However, I never used them.

What does identify the basic grenadier? We should be clear on that:

- Infantry unit

- Projectile takes time, it can be dodged!

- Splash.

- Purpose 1: Anti Infantry / light vehicle / mostly light structures

- Purpose 2: Can destroy walls at early tech (if there are some)

- Purpose 3: Can fire over objects by an upside parabolic

Anything more to add?