[Release] Smugglers Campaign - Summers' Solstice

[Fey]

The smugglers campaign is done! Again!

Features:
 - Eighteen campaign levels; Thirty meticulously-crafted missions in total.
 - Highly varied objectives between mostly non-linear, large-scale maps.
 - A smooth difficulty curve from the simple tutorial to the thrilling climax.
 - Custom artwork to bring your most dire foes and epic confrontations to life.
 - Engaging story full of twists, evoking surprise, and bringing identity to each faction.
 - Your in-game choices will affect how certain missions play out. You are the Commander!
 - Challenge and drama that amp up constantly, adding a sense of desperation to your battles.
 - Re-imagined tech and balancing through a complex mod that's still loyal to the original designs.

In-Game Screenshots:

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Details:

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The smugglers campaign follows the story of Rowe Summers, an ex-mercenary commander whose extensive military experience baffles friend and foe alike as she turns the rag-tag smuggler militia into a contender for the ultimate prize: Arrakis.

S01V1: Quality Control
Learn efficient base construction with Sumadi's supervision and mine Spice for the coming war.

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STRATEGY:
This is a simple tutorial map, but it'll test more than your ability to mine Spice.

Your main units on this map will be infantry. Infantry are slow, and the most fragile units, but they're also cheap. They are the only units capable of garrisoning infantry rock, allowing them to outmaneuver vehicles in certain cases. Despite their drawbacks, infantry are dangerous when used effectively or en masse. They're the most effective when covered either by terrain or by bulkier friendly units, like Raiders.

Follow Sumadi's instructions, but feel free to divert from them as long as you have a Wind Trap, a Refinery, a Barracks, and an Outpost by 8 minutes in. The optimal order is Wind Trap > Refinery > Barracks > Outpost.

If you decide to put down a second Refinery or a Heavy Factory to get another Harvester, pay close attention to the Spice field! The worm wandering around the map will have only your Harvesters to snack on. Invest in a Barracks upgrade as soon as you can and get some Troopers out on the rocks. When the worm is put to sleep, you probably won't have to worry about it anymore.

When you've completed Sumadi's evaluation, an Imperial MCV with escort will show up. Notably, they have two RPG Quads on any difficulty. RPG Quads are extremely dangerous to everything you have at this tech level! If you can't take them down right out of the Carryalls, prepare yourself with infantry and Raiders. The Imperials will attack you, and after they do, that's the perfect time to retaliate. You've already been through the structure demonstration, so find the equivalent buildings in the Imperial base! Take down their power, stop them from producing units, and finish them off.

Your Troopers will be the most effective at razing their structures. Use Raiders to assist your infantry and keep them safe from enemy Grenadiers, which are particularly dangerous to infantry. You can also produce Light Infantry en masse to fight the enemy, but use them wisely so they don't die needlessly.

As tempting as it may be to use Harvesters to roll over their infantry, Harvesters aren't all that tough. Troopers and Quads will be able to destroy them easily, and then you would have been better off using massed Light Infantry instead. Still, they are considerably useful against Light Infantry, Grenadiers, and Trikes.

Once the Imperials are defeated, you must harvest 2,500 Solaris to end the map in victory. One Refinery and one Silo can hold this amount, so feel free to sell everything in your base but those two structures once you no longer need anything else. Good luck!

S01V2: Petty Thievery
Blitz Imperial mining camps with quick LAVs as you attempt to steal Spice for the coming war.

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STRATEGY:
This is the more advanced version of level 1 and tests your vehicle combat skills.

Your main units on this map will be LAVs, or Light Armored Vehicles. Although LAVs are fragile, they're the fastest units and are perfectly suited to hit-and-run attacks. When supported by heavy armor, LAVs can swarm into fortified positions or around enemy forces to pick them apart in moments.

Grab all of your units and head out of Sumadi's base. Imperial infantry will spot you, prompting Sumadi to send Combat Tanks.

With some armor in the party, head either to the east or the north and tackle whatever enemy defense forces you can beyond the reach of the stationary Gun Turret. Use the repair wrench on your vehicles to make them go back to the Repair Pad when they take too much damage, but keep pushing on with your healthy vehicles. When the enemy's defense forces are routed, send your Combat Tanks in on the Gun Turret and defend them with your LAVs. Your Combat Tanks are tougher than the LAVs and can absorb damage from the Gun Turret better than your Quads or Raiders could. Once the perimeter is breached, the Silos will be visible and within your grasp! Destroy them quickly, then retreat with your remaining vehicles to get back up to full strength. You'll also get a couple more Combat Tanks, and if you lost your Grenadiers, they'll be replaced once.

The other base will have received reinforcements to prevent your attack, but as long as you kept enough vehicles intact after your attack on the first base, this should be a snap. Do the same thing: Tackle their defense forces at a safe distance from the Gun Turret, then push ahead with your Combat Tanks. Once you take out the other Silos, victory is achieved.

Alternatively, there is a secret Wind Trap on the north side of the map. Taking it out will cut the power to all Imperial turrets, making them totally harmless. Their defense forces are still formidable, but you could fight them in a new position. Have fun!

S02V1: Desperate Defense
Command the emergency defense of a base soon under siege by vastly superior Imperial forces.

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STRATEGY:
This is one of those harvest-the-Spice maps.

The Imperials are very powerful. All you've got is Light II tech and a Starport, but while you may not be able to strike down Giraud's base, you can defend against his attacks.

While you get your economy and factories set up, check the Starport for cheap units and consider scouting the region. The further away you see the Imperials coming, the better prepared you'll be deal with them. There are a couple of noteworthy locations: Sietch Hagga, and the defensible ridge at midfield. You might be able to get the Fremen pissed off at the Imperials if you hang around Sietch Hagga, but this naturally carries the risk of pissing off the Fremen, yourself. The Fremen are only a red herring and can be ignored. For discovering the defensible ridge, however, you'll get some reinforcements!

Your defense could go a number of ways, but there are two I like. If you remain at your base, you can set up Concrete Walls, which block most attacks. Order Siege / Missile Tanks from the Starport and put them behind Concrete Walls, or use Grenadiers. As long as you build some LAVs to swarm whatever's on the wrong side of the wall, and keep repairing your walls where necessary, that defense is quite solid and can carry you until the end of the mission.

Alternatively, send infantry to (or set up an MCV at) the defensible ridge at midfield. There's a ton of infantry-only terrain here, so scatter your Troopers around with LRA / Grenadier support and watch them instagib anything that gets too close. Just keep a couple of Quads around for any Siege Tanks they might send, and replace lost Troopers where needed. Infantry are so cheap, this can prove to be an efficient defense that lets you rack up 15k Solaris in no time.

However you do it, the map ends in victory when the Imperial Burseg grows tired of your defense and crushes your position with all the tanks he's been massing. Don't worry, your objective's already been completed, so consider it a cinematic ending. Have fun!

S02V2: Scavenging the Wastes
Re-capture a compromised smuggler base in an attempt to salvage any Spice it may have had.

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STRATEGY:
This is one of those survival maps.

Commander Summers is present on the field, but she has a mind of her own. You'll be ordering her troops around though, so scout around where you can with your LAVs and keep your infantry with Summers. When the smuggler base is reached, rally all your forces there and get ready for a fight.

The smuggler base will self-destruct, so keep your infantry on its edge so they're not hit with falling debris. The first Imperial Carryall will drop on the north end of the ruins, so go hit 'em before they can even step out of the Carryall's shadow. While you're eating the appetizers, Imperial Sardaukar will show up on the southwest and southeast sides with armor and LAV support respectively. The Imperial Combat Tank will crush your infantry if given the chance, but the bigger danger is the two RPG Quads out of the Carryall on the right. Fight it out if you wish, but remember that your goal is simply to protect Commander Summers from the Imperial ambushers. As long as she's safe, you'll be fine.

The Imperials will drop in two or three MCVs across the El-Sayal Plains around this time. If you still have a lot of units, consider trying to deal some damage, but be quick if you attempt it at all! Imperial armor and LRA will eventually come and clean your forces up before following Summers to the north.

Try and keep your RPG Quads and Grenadiers alive until the Sietch is discovered. The Imperial Burseg is openly hostile to both you and the Fremen, so you will form a temporary alliance. There are some Atreides structures on the hill, and you'll get some Engineers to capture them with. Capture them!

Now, here's a really important rule of Light II tech this map will no doubt teach you on any difficulty above Easy: Barracks upgrade = defense, Light Factory upgrade = offense. Upgrading both your Barracks and Light Factory is 2,000 credits on Normal difficulty, so consider picking only one.

Upgrading your Barracks will allow you to mass Grenadiers and Troopers, which can effectively hold off the bulk of the Imperials' forces with a little bit of help from Trikes. Scatter them across the infantry rock and replace fallen infantry where needed. Siege Tanks will be nasty in this case, but as long as you see them coming and swarm them with your Trikes, you should be able to minimize damage.

Alternatively, upgrade your Light Factory and spam Quads. You'll more than likely have several opportunities to surgically strike the Imperials' base(s). You might even be able to capture a building with your sixth Engineer given enough LAV support. However, LAVs are quite delicate, so don't feed them to the Imperials' Gun Turrets! You only have so many funds, after all. Use your LAVs and Light Infantry to support your Fremen allies instead. The longer the Fremen Warriors last, the better your chances.

This map is unique in that you don't actually need to have any units or structures intact. You will not lose unless the Sietch is destroyed prematurely or Summers is killed. If it comes down to the wire, sell your buildings! Use everything at your disposal to hold the Imperials back until the timer runs out. When it does, the Imperials will send everything they possibly can to end the map, in victory for you since you survived 'til now. Good luck!

SBON1: Hunted
Flee the vengeful Imperial forces chasing you relentlessly through a winding canyon.

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STRATEGY:
This is bonus mission #1! On bonus missions, you play as an alternative faction.

Group up your units how you see fit and get ready to go. Stay ahead of Summers and strike fast on new enemy units, before they get the chance to deal much damage to you. You'll only have infantry to deal with first, but remember to scatter your Fremen Warriors when facing a Quad so its rockets can't deal damage to five at once. You should mostly use your Fremen Warriors here because your Trikes will be needed for the next part.

Summers and Nehara will spot the smuggler base they need to get to, but Imperial forces will drop down behind you. Meet them out of the Carryall with all you've got, then continue northeast, but watch out for the Imperial Quads that'll be coming up on your rear. There are a lot of Grenadiers in this section, so swarm them with your Trikes and gun them down. The section ends after you defeat the second Imperial Carryall drop, which contains a Grenadier on normal and hard modes.

By now, you're almost in the clear. When Summers is ready to move, head west and defeat the enemy Sardaukar. Summers will thank Nehara, and in a moment, Giraud will drop more forces once more, this time back where you started. Once the Sietch is caved in, the map ends in victory. Good luck!

S03V1: Double Bind
Make potentially powerful allies: Contact the Atreides or Harkonnen and discuss business.

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STRATEGY:
This is the easier version of S03 and the final Light II map for now.

You have eight minutes to negotiate with a House. Get scouting! When you discover the ConYard of either the Atreides or the Harkonnen, Summers will begin negotiations with that House. You can speak with the other, but its commander will deny you on the grounds that your forces were spotted in his enemy's base. It's a good idea to scout both bases anyway since you'll be trying to destroy one of them.

Prepare defenses and get your income steady before passing 5k Solaris. Your funds will be instantly depleted as you seal the deal with the House you first negotiated with, and if you don't have defenses already up, you're going to be in a tight spot when your new enemy retaliates against you.

Your one RPG Quad and starting Grenadiers can go to excellent use beside your Gun Turret. With a little more cover, the position can be effectively held. Build up some forces and get ready to assist your ally, but take note of which units your ally uses the most so you can complement them.

If you ally with the Atreides, your Troopers and Quads will go to the best use against the Harkonnen base since the Atreides prefer to use Light Infantry, Grenadiers, and Trikes. A few Grenadiers are recommended for breaking down their perimeter walls, otherwise your Troopers and Quads will find it an arduous task to pierce that perimeter. Both Harkonnen Refineries are fairly exposed, so they make good priority targets, and a Harkonnen Wind Trap can be hit from below the western cliff wall. Once the Harkonnen base is destroyed, you'll achieve victory.

The Harkonnen would best be supported by Light Infantry, Grenadiers, and Raiders. Some Troopers and Quads are recommended to garrison the ridge outside the Atreides base and hit their Harvesters. The Atreides base has only one main entrance, but there is an infantry-only in the back of their base. You can take out an Outpost here and remove their ability to produce Grenadiers, at least until they rebuild it, and even get easy access to their ConYard. If you go through the main entrance, fight their defense forces at the defensible ridge and push in when the Harkonnen join you. After the Atreides base is in ruins, victory is yours.

Good luck and have fun!

S03V2: Razorback
Fend off an Atreides raid, possibly with the aid of the Harkonnen.

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STRATEGY:
This is the harder version of S03 and the final Light II map for now.

You've got fifteen minutes to prepare for the arrival of the Harkonnen. Whether you'll be defending them from the Atreides until they can get situated or making them regret landing in Bled al-Hazrad, you should plan accordingly. Although the Atreides are quite tough, Durant can hold his own very well and will adjust his defenses around Summers' strategies. Give him a little bit of assistance with Grenadiers and LAVs where you can, but focus on scouting the region, getting your economy built up, and maximizing your production.

Building three of a certain sort of production structure will max the speed at which you can train / build related units. Durant will afford you the necessary security while you get ready to snowball the enemy, so take your time doing just that.

You can set up a new Refinery at your eastern base entrance to get the best access to Spice, but be ready to micro your Harvesters away from Atreides forces. There are also a few Atreides Harvesters out and about. Take them out if you find them and you'll encounter less resistance.

When you're ready to start picking apart the Atreides, you have several routes to consider. The Atreides expansion in the south will support the defense of their main base and they'll generally hound your units around midfield too. However, it's a LOT more difficult to destroy than it might look! The Atreides Grenadiers and Gun Turrets will provide remarkable resistance. If you can lure any of the Grenadiers out and kill them with Raiders, it'll help immensely when your infantry need to run in and take down the Gun Turrets. You can likewise attempt a strike from the infantry-only, but you should again try to take down any Grenadiers you can before committing to the attack. Finally, your own Grenadiers can hit a Wind Trap at the expansion from below the cliff wall, but they will be hit by defense forces.

Taking out the expansion's Wind Traps will shut down all Rocket Turrets in their main. There are only two; one guards each cluster of Wind Traps.

The main Atreides base itself has several Gun Turrets covering all entrances. With the aid of the Harkonnen, and Durant, you can push through them easily enough. The tactical objective that states you can scatter your infantry to mitigate explosive damage is important! Not only do Gun Turrets' powerful explosive damage wreck clustered infantry, but lesser explosions like Trooper and Quad rockets will be exponentially more effective. To some extent, scattering can mitigate damage from Grenadiers, but Grenadiers should ideally never get the chance to attack your infantry since they're what you keep LAVs around to kill. Unfortunately, the Atreides' main base deploys lots of Grenadiers, so bring some Raiders to counter them.

The Scatter and Guard commands are X and G respectively, by default.

The Atreides' main base has Wind Traps on the edges. Destroying them on one side can cripple production and shut down Gun Turrets in that half of the base. If you can get some Quads to the rear, you'll find two relatively exposed Atreides Refineries. In the middle of it all are the Atreides factories and Repair Pads, which present the biggest threat if they're funded and have power. When you raze it all, victory is yours. Good luck!

If you want to make it harder on yourself, you may also kill the Harkonnen if you choose not to ally with them. It can be beneficial to leave them alive until later even if they're hostile, as they may attack the Atreides, but this isn't guaranteed. Nothing too fancy about killing them; just knock out their power, harass their Harvesters, and use infantry rock near their base to box them in and support your more mobile LAVs as they move in and out. You'll also find that they set up more defensively if you're hostile, so if you plan to take them out early, strike hard and fast before they get the chance to set up all of their Gun Turrets.

S04V1: Strictly Business
Contact the Ordos and attempt to seal an incredible deal.

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STRATEGY:
This is among the easier maps in the campaign.

You begin with the lowest amount of credits you'll ever see: 1k. You start with a Heavy Factory, so build a Harvester for starts. That, and the extra Harvester Durant gifts to you, should get you started quite nicely. While that's going on, take your LAVs around and scout the map! The Harkonnen are in the top right, the Ordos in the bottom right, and a secret is in the bottom left.

You also have an MCV to expand with assuming you don't deploy it in your main for the quicker build speed. It's only worth 1k if sold on Normal mode, so it's worth more to set up at any of the many good locations around Maqbara Roughs where you can mine more Spice and mass units for attacking the enemy.

This map introduces commonplace armor. Armor is a classification of unit designed for frontal assault. Armor should be used mainly to cover other classifications of unit, although Combat Tanks in particular are well-rounded enough to do far more.

Once you contact the Ordos, the Harkonnen will know they're there, at least. From here, you must choose to ally with the Harkonnen or the Ordos. Staying clear of combat (or killing Harkonnen) will most likely get Krillys to declare open hostility towards you at some point, which is when you officially ally with the Ordos. If you decide to help the Harkonnen in killing Ordos, this should allow you to maintain your alliance with the Harkonnen instead.

If you're allying with the Ordos, you can build up an army to smash the Harkonnen base with once Krillys decides you're useless. If you wish to ally with the Harkonnen, you should garrison the infantry rock near the Ordos base and go poke their Harvesters until Moriaen retaliates. You can lead her forces into your trap and efficiently pass that kill-count. This would best be done before Krillys has already lost many units to the Ordos since he'll turn hostile to you before the Ordos do if you've been slacking.

When your alliance is settled, Durant will immediately retaliate against whichever House you opposed. Join him! Lead with your Combat Tanks so his LAVs can do their work. The Ordos and Harkonnen bases are both dense with turrets, but since it's a 3v1 by now, this is one of those rare instances where you can brute-force the enemy and win. Have fun!

S05V1: Meat Grinder
Prevent the destruction of an Ixian research base, then escape.

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STRATEGY:
You've got five minutes before the Harkonnen realize you're working for the Ordos.

Get some Grenadiers and Troopers or Quads out and get ready to fight 'em off, but first, scout the map with your Raiders. You should reveal the Harkonnen base to make things easier later, but stay away from the Fremen. If you wander too close to the Sietch, the Fremen will retaliate for your trespassing and it's better to keep them neutral so they butt heads with the Harkonnen instead of you. When you're ready, the Ixian base is in the southwest. Discover the Ix Research Centre to progress.

The Harkonnen will immediately retaliate at your main base with mostly LAVs. Make sure you take out their RPG Quads and Grenadiers with your own LAVs, then let your Troopers and Grenadiers handle whatever else they send. Try not to lose the Gun Turret while you're at it.

This is the first time you'll see enemy Flame Tanks, not counting the ones at the end of either S02V1 or S02V2. They're big, but that just makes them easier targets. Troopers and Grenadiers in great enough numbers can quickly destroy them, and its attack is useless against walls since they're made of concrete. They're a good reason to keep at least a Quad or two in your group of Raiders though, and despite being a type of light vehicle, Flame Tanks are still able to crush infantry.

Aurelianus will provide you with a single MCV once you survive the Harkonnen assault. You can either set up to the north, behind the Fremen Sietch, or to the east, behind your own base. The location to the north will provide you great protection until the Fremen are killed by the Harkonnen while offering you a better angle at the Harkonnen base, while the location to the east will allow you to better support your main base. Pick one, and consider getting some Engineers out to capture the Ixian Silos or something. Just leave their Research Centre and Refinery alone.

If you need more space, you can upgrade your Heavy Factory and use another MCV to expand further. You can take an MCV to a good position to fall back to that's nearby the enemy base. A Repair Pad and Gun Turrets set up not far from the Harkonnen base will prove useful.

Aurelianus will inform you that she's developed a new armored vehicle. As long as her Refinery and Research Centre are intact, these Duelist Tanks will continue spawning from her Research Centre for you. While you could capture her Refinery to get a headstart since it's not a mission-critical structure, this is not recommended since you begin with 10k Solaris and Duelist Tanks are very helpful. The first ones she provides for you should be sent back to your original base, if it's still intact, and placed in front of the Concrete Wall. You'll find they do well at soaking fire from enemy units.

It's unlikely you'll be able to do much damage to the Harkonnen base in the early game, but they have several Harvesters outside their base you should seek and destroy. The more damage you can do to their income, the better. A small group of Quads will be enough to achieve this, provided you have a backup plan for the Harkonnen response team.

When you're ready, try to pierce the Harkonnen base defenses. Like previous maps, Grenadiers are extremely useful for breaking down the Concrete Walls, but make sure you send your Duelist / Combat Tanks in first so the Gun Turrets don't blow them to bits. If enemy defense forces give you a hard time, don't stick around! Their whole base has excellent turret coverage and you won't be able to hold any ground if you've got defense forces to contend with too. Retreat, repair, and then hit them again. Although it's difficult to take down their power, any factories or Refineries you take out will greatly hamper their ability to muster further defenses. When you cause enough damage, the Harkonnen will sell whatever remains of their factory complex as a desperation move. Once you slaughter enough of their Light Infantry, victory is decidedly yours! Good luck.

S06V1: Shipping and Handling
Ensure the Ixian weapons arrive unharmed. Then, defeat all enemy forces.

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STRATEGY:
The easier version of S06, and one of the easier maps in the campaign.

This map introduces commonplace LRA units. LRA stands for Long Range Artillery. The enemy will use Missile Tanks against you, which are great tank destroyers. They're countered by Raiders. You, yourself, can choose between Duelist Tanks and Siege Tanks. Once you have your Heavy Factory and a High Tech Factory up, either drop 2k on the Heavy Factory upgrade for Siege Tanks and MCVs... or, upgrade your HTF and build a Research Centre for a total of 2k and you'll be able to build Duelist Tanks. Later on, you can unlock the other, but it's a good idea to focus on one route to begin with.

The careful use of units is essential to mission success, and you'll have greater chances if you're attentive to what class a unit is. It's better to learn this sooner, rather than later. LRA units like Siege Tanks are excellent backline support or fortification breakers, and you can position them behind Durant's turrets in order to support them with serious firepower. When you're ready to attack the enemy, those Siege Tanks can be brought up behind Combat Tanks to help break enemy walls. Armor units like Duelist Tanks absorb damage very well and can either protect Gun Turrets long after the walls have been broken down, or lead the charge into the enemy base while your Grenadiers and Quads bring their firepower against the enemy. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your desired technology before deploying it to the battlefield.

Your first objective is to defend midfield. The Atreides and Harkonnen will tear through Durant's base pretty easily without your support. The Ordos will help, but they can only do so much. I recommend getting your Barracks upgraded immediately and getting some Troopers and Grenadiers ready. Durant has plenty of Gun Turrets, so stick your Troopers in front and your Grenadiers behind. If you can get a Heavy Factory or Light Factory up quickly, you can further reinforce midfield with armor or LAVs. This should be quite sufficient to prevent much damage to Durant's base.

Once you've held off the enemy at midfield, Durant will spontaneously turn on you. DO NOT DESTROY HIS OUTPOST! It's still a mission objective that it remains intact. As Summers says, you must capture it. Defeat his units with the army you've been building up and escort an Engineer into his Outpost to force his surrender. Destroying the turrets on the east side of his base will keep his defenses facing your real enemies intact, so don't hold back.

There is a small window in the middle of this chaos where the Imperials may surgically strike his Outpost. Don't allow them to destroy it.

You may also capture his Outpost early by using ctrl + click with an Engineer, but this won't really make the map go much faster. Durant will express his surprise and the map goes on as it normally does, only Durant is in no position to betray you.

However you do it, the Ordos will receive lots of reinforcements after the 30-minute mark, and you'll be ready to join them for a big attack after Durant's back on your side. Go beat up the Atreides and Harkonnen, who really won't stand a chance after the Ordos start getting their deliveries. Even with their fancy prototype tanks. Have fun!

S06V2: Breaking the Blockade
Crush the Imperial blockade on the Heighliner so the Ordos may receive their weapons.

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STRATEGY:
The harder version of S06, if only because of all the new mechanics.

This map introduces commonplace LRA units. LRA stands for Long Range Artillery. The enemy will use Missile Tanks against you, which are great tank destroyers. They're countered by Raiders. You, yourself, can choose between Duelist Tanks and Siege Tanks. Once you have your Heavy Factory and a High Tech Factory up, either drop 2k on the Heavy Factory upgrade for Siege Tanks and MCVs... or, upgrade your HTF and build a Research Centre for a total of 2k and you'll be able to build Duelist Tanks.

This map also introduces the Heighliner tileset. Heighliner maps differ in more than structure from Arrakis maps. Here's what you need to know about 'em:
 - You can only build on the orange platform, also known as Base Platform.
 - The gold platforms with crates on 'em are Supply Depots, or SDs for short. They're finite.
 - The kinda Refinery-looking buildings built into the terrain are Mass Deposits, or MDs. They can't be depleted.

When you set your Refinery up, make sure you send your Harvester on the MD just above your ConYard. Since MDs don't run out, it's better to put a Harvester or two on them before you start harvesting the crates. When you need more income, place another Refinery and harvest the neighboring SD. You'll find that map control is much more important in this sort of tileset; without it, you'll lack the MDs to adequately support your production.

In the meantime, go exploring. This is a superstructure. You'll come across harmless Guild structures neighboring your base (assuming you're quick enough that you see them before the Imperials blow through them), and if you go further, you'll run into the Imperial occupation. Since you begin with an Engineer, it's a good idea to capture a Guild building. The Research Centre near the (thankfully offline) Storm Lasher will give you easy access to Duelist Tanks, and you can build another Refinery there to harvest from the nearby MD and SDs. If you capture the Guild Refinery, you'll need to defend it from Imperial attacks. Personally, I like and recommend the Refinery. Go capture the Research Centre later, or the Imperials will easily destroy the Guild Refinery.

Near the Refinery are a couple of Guild Freighters. There are five of them total on the map. The two at this location net you a few Combat Tanks, some Unknown LAVs, two Deviator Prototypes, and an Unknown LRA. The Unknown LAVs are as fragile as normal Raiders, but their weapons are effective against all targets. Swarm enemy units with them once the armor has their attention. The Unknown LRA and Deviator Prototypes are both LRA and should be placed out of the reach of enemy units, be that behind Concrete Walls or beside bridges, on the white platforms.

Attacking the first enemy position above you from the right is incredibly dangerous thanks to the line of turrets nearby. Unfortunately, it's where the base's Wind Traps are too. What you can do is hit the base from the left, where you can snipe the Refinery, or you can defeat the enemy forces from the bottom. Once their defense units are down, all three of their factories are lined up and ripe for the killing. Consider capturing a building here so you can use their Mass Deposit, too.

The second enemy position is in a maze of sorts, but you can take it down very easily by pushing to the Wind Traps on the left. If you've brought some Siege Tanks with you, they'll put the Imperials' power here in the red. The only threat at that point would be the Starport by your objective, but that can't hold you back on its own. Whatever you do, take down those Wind Traps that were revealed at the start of the game! This will completely shut down not only the Imperial turrets in their main base, but the massive lines of turrets preventing you from getting to their main. Go join Durant for the attack and take down that ConYard.

Just like in the other version of S06, Durant will turn on you now that your main objective is complete. He'll drop a sneaky squad of Grenadiers at your start location. Watch out for that. The Imperials will also send available units to attack nearby targets, which could be you or Durant, now that they've failed their objective. Defend your base from the sudden attack, then go and fight Durant. Hopefully, he took some damage during his fight with the Imperials. If you're running low on units, go exploring some more for Guild Freighters, many of which may have been hidden behind Imperial defenses that are now nullified. You can kill every mercenary as long as you don't touch his command Outpost in the top right corner. That must be captured, not destroyed.

When all Imperial forces are defeated and Durant's Outpost is captured, the mission ends in victory. Good luck!

S07V1: The Traitor
Hunt down the one responsible for sabotaging your previous missions.

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STRATEGY:
This is one of the harder maps in the campaign.

Things will be quiet for a few minutes, so get your economy going and capture the remaining merc structures. Keep an eye out for the nearby worm and kill it when it spawns. When Sumadi begins talking with Summers, he's about to send his first attack. You can hold it off with your starting units. Defend your Heavy Factory from the initial swarm of Stealth Raiders from inside your base, then a second from the north, and then head over to the west side of your base and hold off the enemy armor. Try not to let any of your Harvesters get picked off during the attack.

Keep a mobile force ready to respond to attacks until you get a comfortable defensive position set up. Your Deviators should be really helpful against enemy armor as long as you give them some cover.

If you intend to push to the north, I recommend upgrading your Heavy Factory early and getting an MCV out. The bigger rock island is to the west of your base, and it has enough space for another Refinery, a Repair Pad, the ConYard, and a bunch of turrets. It's a fantastic place to set up Gun Turrets with Deviator / Siege Tank support while you send attackers in the other direction.

If you intend to push to the west, you can set up on the other rock island at the choke point, or you can capture Sumadi's isolated Starport a little further north. In this case, you don't need to blow the cash on a Heavy Factory upgrade so soon, and you can even prioritize a Light Factory / Barracks setup instead. Inexpensive, massed Quads will wreck the turrets at the base to the west.

Whichever you decide, setting up turrets along the direction you don't intend to go allows you to focus your attention on one attack vector.

The weakest of Sumadi's bases lies to the north of your initial position. Blow through the wall on the south end to take out the Wind Traps easily. Once the ConYard and HTF here are down, you'll see less Stealth Raiders on the field. I mean, you wouldn't see them anyway, but... you know what I mean.

Taking the tougher foe out of the fight sooner could pay off later. Plus, there's a lot more room to build atop the ruins of their base. If you head to the west, you can hit every Wind Trap at Sumadi's base there with infantry up their exclusive path and LRA from below. And the Refineries, too. With enough firepower, you can simply brute-force through the main base and its perimeter, which is lined with turrets, and be rid of his factories faster.

Once you've got the bottom half of the map calmed or secure, it'll be much easier to push north to Sumadi. Sumadi's best line of defense is in the center of his northern base, and there are two angles to the sides from which you can hit his Wind Traps and Refineries. Some Wind Traps can be hit by LRA from below the cliff wall. You could also push up through the middle, but you'll need lots of armor since you'll be greeted by a mess of Gun Turrets.

At the peak of Hole-in-the-Rock is Sumadi's Outpost. He should barely put up any resistance at this point, so just make your way to him and either destroy or capture the special Outpost. Capturing the Outpost will end the map after a short scene plays out regardless of how many of his loyalists you've left alive. Kill him, and his loyalists will remain hostile 'til the end. You'll need to finish them off.

Good luck.

S08V1: Mercenary
Strike out against the Imperials alongside the Ordos and tip the scales in your favor.

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STRATEGY:
This is one of the harder maps in the campaign.

The Atreides have a massive presence on the map. Your first goal should be to defend your base and Commander Moriaen, whose MCV will fly in a few minutes into the game. The first attacks will be pretty nasty. Get some Gun Turrets up and position your LRA nearby. Keep your armor mobile to defend your Harvesters. Anything you capture with your Deviators should be sent to a corner of the map to scout.

LAVs and infantry are a cost-efficient solution for the Imperial expansion to the west that you should take down as soon as possible. I recommend using the Starport to order more Harvesters while you mass the cheaper units. Get another Refinery or two up. When the Ordos send their attacks out, the enemy will be busy for a couple of minutes, so strike out at that time! When the Imperial expansion to the west is completely razed, Durant's MCV will land.

Consider capturing the Imperial Barracks at the expansion rather than destroying it. You'd be able to train Sardaukar Elites if you have a High Tech Factory too.

Make sure you have enough forces ready to defend Durant while he gets set up. His heavy Combat Tanks are unique and effective armor in this battle. Consider deploying an MCV north of his base. Here, you can place some turrets and more factories. The Ordos should be able to handle whatever scraps come their way by now; most of it will be headed to Durant, or your expansion to the north of Durant.

If you've been defending your allies, you should have a fully established Ordos base and a quickly-growing merc base by the time you're ready to go, yourself. And, you should be ready to go after your allies have grown strong! Despite fierce resistance and Imperial assistance, the Fremen base nearest you will be easy to destroy with all the tanks you and your allies will be throwing at the main entrance. You can knock the power out on the left or head straight up from the entrance to hit all the Wind Traps.

Taking the first Fremen base down will leave a lot more of the enemy territory open. Head to the west to take out the Imperials. They may have a strong occupation in the Atreides base, but their main is easily penetrated and destroyed by comparison. Just bring some Siege Tanks or Grenadiers for all the inconvenient walls. The mercs may or may not help you out here, but their aid shouldn't be necessary anyway.

Both of your allies should carry the hell out of this level by now. Go tear up the Atreides and the other Fremen base, and have fun. Good luck.

S09V1: All-Out at Alazor Steppe
Press the attack into Alazor Steppe and defeat all the enemy commanders who stood in your way.

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STRATEGY:
The easier version of S09 by far. And, the halfway point in the campaign.

Your first objective is to scout the Atreides and Harkonnen positions. You can't get an MCV until this is done, so get your Stealth Raiders going. If you want to set up on your own rock island, discover the southwest corner. Otherwise, cling to the cliff edge and discover the island above the southwest corner. That will trigger a merc MCV to fly in. The sooner, the better!

If you don't discover that corner, your MCV will arrive in the Ordos base instead. This doesn't offer as advantageous a position to defend your merc ally.

Once you've either lost all your scouts or found the Atreides and Harkonnen mains, you'll receive an MCV. Wherever you land, you'll be covered by the mercs for a while. Focus on building a strong economy, but consider getting a Barracks up too. The mercs may need some assistance.

If you haven't lost all your scouts, do some more scouting while you build up! Five to eight Stealth Raiders are all you need to pick off enemy Harvesters. Hit 'em with your Stealth Raiders and scram when the enemy defenders show up... after the Harvester's dead, of course.

While you can lose the mercs and it won't result in mission failure, their assistance is valuable. They mass Quads like mad and attack in unison with the Ordos if possible. You may need to sacrifice some units to hold enemy forces back at the mercs' initial base, but don't worry about it. Buying the extra time will give the Ordos the opportunity to assist as well, and they handle it very well.

Actually, the Ordos handle everything on this map very well. While you're protecting the mercs, remember, the Ordos will be building up the whole time behind them. If uninterrupted, they'll tech up to max and max out their production hardcore. Just another reason to hold the line at the merc base.

If units aren't working so well, you may want to set up some turrets on the small island neighboring the mercs' initial base. Gun Turrets and Grenadiers will do fine while being inexpensive.

When you've got a decent force of Combat Tanks and Quads, join the Ordos for an attack. If you've been giving the enemy a hard time getting through to the Ordos, you should be ready to snowball the map. Stay with the Ordos' main force! Note that Moriaen has a preference for Duelist Tanks in this battle, so your use of weaker, but harder-hitting units will go over well if you use them to support her forces.

With you, the mercs, and the Ordos all pushing against the enemy, they won't stand a chance. While this may be inconvenient if you intend to spare the enemy commanders by capturing their special Outpost, or if you intend to capture a Harkonnen Heavy Factory and get some Shock Raiders out on the field, the destruction will be a lot of fun.

So. Uhh... have fun.

S09V2: Shield Wall Showdown
Lead a stealthy strike force deep into enemy territory to assassinate Emperor Corrino.

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STRATEGY:
The harder version of S09 by far. And, the halfway point in the campaign.

FYI, there are no worms in Shield Wall.

You are leading a sneak attack on Shield Wall deep in enemy territory. Get your Stealth Raiders grouped up and destroy every Rocket Turret around your starting area, and capture whatever you can while you're at it.

The Starport especially should be captured quick. The enemy will receive deliveries there if it's left intact and in their control. If you capture it soon enough, you'll get those deliveries, and they are sorely needed.

You're on your own until you can clear some space for Durant and Moriaen, and your enemies will attack fiercely. Unfortunately, the space you need to clear is the entire Imperial base in the southwest corner of the map. Only after every structure there is gone will your allies show up, and then you'll need to defend them if you want them to be of any use.

You begin with a whopping 30,000 Solaris, so don't be stingy. Get a Light Factory up, upgrade it, and then mass Troopers, Quads, and Combat Tanks. Get your economy rolling enough to support your offensive, but don't go overboard. You'll also want to get some Gun Turrets up around your base to deter the enemy attacks and have a place to fall back to if your own attackers are intercepted. Which is very likely to happen while you're in the middle of clearing the Imperials out.

When your allies warn you that the enemy is withdrawing from Alazor Steppe, they're on their way to Shield Wall to deal with you. The real attacks begin then. They won't have superweapons ready until thirty minutes into the game, so your goal should be to clear that base in around that time. This is doable even on hard mode.

The west side can be approached from the south or from further west. The Sonic Tank and Devastators will be picked up for repairs if damaged, so consider dedicating your remaining Stealth Raiders to poking them. If you plan to attack them head-on, swarm the Sonic Tank first! Clearing this part of the base will net you some Wind Traps and the local Imperial ConYard.

On the east side, you can enter easily from the south, or head around to the north if you want to get behind that Sonic tank. Massed LAVs would be perfect for that maneuver. Their second and last Refinery in this base is here, and you can capture a Research Centre for early access to some high tech. Also, nearby the Research Centre is a great place for more turrets.

While not nearly as powerful as S09V1 Ordos, Moriaen still brings some very solid assistance to Shield Wall. It may take some time for your friends to set up completely, but continue to protect them and you'll be rewarded for it. Durant sets up faster and will deploy his heavy Combat Tanks too, so try to keep him in the game. Unlike Durant, Moriaen is mission-critical and cannot be defeated, but she takes much longer to fully establish her base.

You'll find the Harkonnen to the east, the Atreides to the northwest, and the main Imperial base is to the northeast. Everything needs to die. Like before, if you've got your allies set up to help, your combined forces will make short work of even the massive enemy presence on this map. The hardest part is the beginning. Good luck and have fun!

S10V1: Screaming in Silence
Swiftly silence a smuggler rebellion, and any who might speak of it.

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STRATEGY:
This map introduces the merc tech tree in its entirety, and puts you in the middle of a free-for-all between two heavily optimized enemy AIs. Meaning, you're going to see a LOT of enemy units on the field. You'll be using the merc tech tree from now on.

The good news is, you start with a ton of units too. Gather up your guys and get your economy rolling. And consider taking a couple of Raiders around to scout. The top right of the map is totally safe, and you'll find smuggler Stealth Raiders anywhere south of the Frequency Jammer. They shouldn't impede your mobile scouts. You can wipe them out later when you come back with an army.

The merc tech tree uniquely lacks special units, save for Saboteurs, but you'll notice it comes with some sick perks too. You'll be able to use Raiders, Missile Tanks, and the toughest Combat Tanks in the game. So you've got some really powerful unit combinations at your disposal!

However, take heed of your new Combat Tanks' weaknesses! Whereas the Combat Tanks you've been playing with up to this mission have been fast and capable of outputting decent DPS, these new ones cannot flee enemy LAVs and Combat Tanks. And, their lack of damage output means they will fail miserably if thrown by themselves against a fortified enemy position. Their greatest strength is how hard they are to destroy; they can take more punishment than even Duelist Tanks. Thus, you should always support them with Troopers, Grenadiers, and/or Quads. If your more fragile, but harder-hitting units fall, it's best to retreat your Combat Tanks back to base if possible.

The enemy will fight among themselves at first, but they'll soon attempt to destroy the Frequency Jammer. I recommend keeping a Sonic Tank or two, and your starting Duelist Tanks, around the Frequency Jammer. They do a fine job of holding off the enemy, with a little bit of extra help from your mobile forces. While you figure out where you'd like to attack, consider expanding to the top right, where you can set up some new Refineries and mine all the Spice up there. Also consider expanding south of the Frequency Jammer, where you can set up more factories and turrets and better safeguard the mission-critical structure.

Take small groups of units to attack either the Ordos or the smugglers while you build up a greater force. Attacking from midfield, between your enemies, offers a unique advantage. Although you may not penetrate their defenses in such a position, you'll likely attract one enemy towards the other as they try to flank your units from behind, sparing you some trouble as the enemy pushes through your bait units and attacks the enemy instead of your base.

You might also be able to pick on enemy Harvesters with roving Quads if you know where to go. Make sure you scout as much as you can with your Raiders so those enemy Harvesters are easier to find! As always, taking out enemy Harvesters will guarantee you an economic advantage, so do it nice and early and you won't see so many enemy units later on.

When you're ready to strike out for real, consider de-toothing the Ordos expansion first. It's quite easy to overwhelm, and you can expect the enemy smugglers might attack from the other side when you approach from midfield. You could also go around the Ordos expansion and hit their ConYards from the back, although in that case the enemy smugglers are more likely to attack your main base or the Frequency Jammer instead.

The enemy smuggler base can be approached along the Ordos' attack vector, although you may be attacked from behind in this case. If you bring some LRA to take down the Wind Traps, you may weaken the enemy smugglers enough for the Ordos to deal quite a lot of damage for you! You could also approach from the north where you can get an easy shot at one of their Refineries and possibly at their ConYard too, provided you push in hard enough. The Ordos will probably strike out at you instead if you go this way.

However you do it, the map ends when all enemy structures AND units are destroyed. Everyone needs to die so no word of the battle escapes Chin Rock. Good luck and have fun!

S11V1: Phantom Penance
Confront your past mistakes during this haunted mining operation.

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STRATEGY:
This level will do some weird things to your UI. Don't let yourself be distracted.

First things first, select all your forces and wander. There are no enemies in Qanat Pass, so it's safe to go scouting everywhere. While you should scout the entire region, as it's very small, you should first scout the ruins of the local Atreides base as well as the nearby Sietch. Once this is done, you'll receive an MCV. Plus, you'll find four Combat Tanks and a Sonic Tank in the Heavy Factory.

When you discover the Sietch, destroy it immediately to make things easier on yourself. If you ignore it, you'll face more Voracious Delusions over the course of the mission.

Your goal is simply to establish a mining base and harvest 10,000 Solaris, but things will quickly get complicated (don't they always?) after you get your first Refinery placed. Following a series of strange transmissions, a large Atreides force will show up to the west and threaten your base. Additional Voracious Delusions will appear from new angles following this attack.

Because this is a simple mining mission, you only require Light II tech, and so you only have access to Light II tech. However, Light II tech is extremely versatile! You'll find it's sufficient to handle what you'll be up against. This mission will prepare you to make smart use of low tech for future missions, a very necessary lesson. Here are bullet points for your available units' various advantages:
 - Light Infantry are very easily massed and can be useful against all the enemy infantry you'll be facing. With enough numbers and decent placement, you'll find they can effectively fight LAVs and Missile Tanks. If you have a bunch of them... send them somewhere, scatter them, and then put them on guard mode.
 - Troopers are amazingly useful against Quads. They can match Quads in range and firepower, but not speed or durability. When scattered on the infantry rock all around, Troopers can be a solid line of defense, denying enemy LAVs access to your Harvesters. You'll need a mobile force to support them against greater threats.
 - Grenadiers are your ONLY unit that can attack over walls, aside from the Sonic Tank and RPG Quads. This makes them very effective support for your Gun Turrets. Not only are they awesome against infantry, but they can deal serious damage to Trikes and Missile Tanks too. They're also fast enough to keep pace with Quads.
 - Raiders are your main interceptors. Enough of them can quickly swarm and destroy pretty much anything, although you'll have the best success picking off infantry, Trikes, and Missile Tanks with them.
 - Quads are your best defense against Combat and Sonic Tanks. Combat Tanks may be heavily armored, but they deal less damage than Quads and Troopers, so you can easily catch and destroy them with Quads. Sonic Tanks, on the other hand, can't deal much damage to things very close to them. So, rush in close and kill 'em quick!

Aside from the units you can build, you also get some incidental powers:
 - You begin the map with two RPG Quads. These awesome hybrids are great scouts and can not only defend themselves in close range, but they can launch grenades over walls too. Consider them highly mobile anti-infantry defense, and try not to get them killed. They'll go to best use if they stay behind cover.
 - You'll be making use of four Atreides Gun Turrets at the ruins where you establish your base. These are quite important for protecting your structures! Build Concrete Walls around them to protect them, and keep those walls repaired. If you see a Gun Turret under attack, take your mobile force of LAVs to assist.
 - You'll recover four Atreides Combat Tanks upon discovering the Atreides Heavy Factory. This is all the mobile armor you'll get. Place them in front of turrets / walls / other units to protect them, but try not to let them get destroyed entirely! They can work quite well intermixed with your mobile force of LAVs, too.
 - You'll also get a single Sonic Tank. Like the RPG Quads, it can attack over walls and so it'll go to great use covering a Gun Turret somewhere. Just try not to swarm enemy units within its firing range with your LAVs, or the Sonic Tank will completely obliterate your mobile force along with those aggressors.
 - Finally, an old Atreides Repair Pad on the north side of the ruins can be captured and used to keep your units, common and incidental, intact. Repair costs can rack up quickly, but replacements are expensive too.

Get your economy rolling quickly. Consider harvesting from nearby the Sietch first, while things are fairly calm. Despite the unexpected enemy attacks, your objective is still to harvest 10,000 Solaris! Enemy attacks will intensify over time and as you near your goal. As soon as you pass 10,000 Solaris, new enemy attacks will stop coming, but you must finish off whatever remains. Thus, you should be prepared for the most intense enemy attacks at the very end, and you should try to hit 10k as quickly as possible.

Once all of the Voracious Delusions are annihilated, victory is yours. Good luck and have fun!

SBON2: The Ghola Gambit
Discover the secret Tleilaxu plot amidst the ruins of the Golden Lion Throne.

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STRATEGY:
This map takes place in Shield Wall. You'll see part of S09V2, and more. In fact, your base will be situatated atop the ruins of the Imperial base formerly at the peak of Shield Wall, and your enemy will be even further north. You are playing as the Ix.

Your men have fled the main base. Gather them up and defend your secondary position from assault, and when the Engineers show up, send them down to re-activate the ConYard, Barracks, and Heavy Factory. You'll have enough power to support the two factories; just make sure your ConYard and Wind Traps are fully repaired.

Your initial focus should be on defending yourself. The Tleilaxu have a large base near the ruins of the Golden Lion Throne, and you don't really start with much at all. If you keep your secondary position, you can harvest from the southeast Spice fields with impunity. If not, you'll need to defend your Harvesters with mobile forces, which can be quite difficult considering the amount of enemy units expected to attack.

Not too long into the game, you'll begin receiving plenty of reinforcements from Alazor Steppe. Use them to complement your defenses and secure more resources until you can stage an attack against the Tleilaxu. As your technology improves, you'll find that you can build RPG Quads too, which are nifty LAV / LRA hybrids. This is the only map where you may build them from your Light Factory, and I recommend doing so since you should understand how versatile they can be before they show up en-masse on the enemy team in later missions.

You'll find useful structures on the west side of the map. Either capture them with Engineers or ignore them. The most notable one is the Starport in the northwest. Capturing that will save you plenty of Solaris, and doing so early can get you some sorely-needed technology, although you may not be able to defend it for very long at that time.

The Tleilaxu are past a choke point. There are five entrances into their base, but only one path is traversable by vehicles. That path is also quite well-covered by turrets. This is both good news and bad news for you. The good news is, if you capture the central rock island, you can set up a turret line just south of the choke point to obstruct enemy vehicular attacks! The bad news is, your own vehicles are going to get slaughtered when you push on the enemy.

There are a couple of Axlotl Tanks near the ruins of the Golden Lion Throne. Capture one and you can set up a turret line just above them.

The infantry-only all the way on the east side will allow you to attack the Wind Traps controlling the Rocket Turrets spread around the enemy base. This will allow you to push into the enemy base more easily. The infantry-only on the west side is nearby the Wind Traps keeping all the Gun Turrets spread around the enemy base active. If attacking either location, use LRA like Missile Tanks to hit all the turrets you can from below the cliff and support your infantry as they run on up. Just remember to scatter them before sending them into the firing range of any turrets your LRA can't hit.

Once the Tleilaxu base is razed, victory is yours! Assuming you also captured an Axlotl Tank and trained some Gholas. Good luck and have fun!

S12V1: False Pretenses
Rescue a contingent of Devastators from the clutches of a mysterious new enemy.

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STRATEGY:
This is a difficult mission.

First things first, sell whatever you don't need. Silos on the east side, turret on the south, Barracks on the west. All of those can go, and selling them will conveniently afford you exactly enough power to place a Heavy Factory. That will let you build more Harvesters sooner, thus improving your economy, thus helping you along your way to victory faster.

Set your initial Sonic Tanks and Missile Tanks up around your starting Gun Turrets. Just watch out for any Deviators that might be looking to hit one of those Sonic Tanks, or you'll see a lot of chaos in the middle of your much-needed fortifications.

The unknown enemies may have set up a trap for you, but you should know how to handle their forces by now. Deviators and Sonic Tanks are a nasty combination. However, they're both classified as LRA, and as you should know, LRA is easily picked off by LAVs. Take a bunch of Quads and Raiders, swarm them, chew them to bits, rinse and repeat. Other than that, the enemy uses exclusively light Combat Tanks and other stuff you've seen before.

Don't be fooled by how easy the light Combat Tanks are to destroy! If they come at you in great numbers, as they should, their considerable damage output will devastate your forces. You should scout as much as you can with Light Infantry and your starting Raiders so you can see them coming, then get some Quads ready to go mess 'em up when they're out in the open. That should result in some cost-effective trades.

When you get your reinforcement MCV not long into the game, consider setting up at one of the rock islands around your base. I like the center because it provides the most advantageous position for map control. It may be tough to hold at first, but once you have some turrets up and you've moved your LRA behind them, you should finally be able to mine more Spice in relative peace.

While waiting for that MCV, consider teching up to and stockpiling Solaris for Rocket Turrets. Gun Turrets work great, and you'll save a lot of Solaris, but Rocket Turrets are naturally your best bet.

When you're ready to attack, you'll find you may choose between three locations. And remember, less units means easier micro-management. You don't need a bajillion tanks to brute-force a base. You just need a good strategy and execution!

The northeast unknown base guards a bunch of Wind Traps that are hooked up to the enemy Rocket Turrets scattered around False Wall. Most of them are around the northeast base anyway. If you manage to get behind the northeast base, not only will you be able to power down all the enemy Rocket Turrets (except the one guarding your Devastator friends), but you'll also have access to the main power cluster for the northeast base itself. And, the Rocket Turrets on the cliff guarding the Refineries will be offline. You can effectively de-tooth the whole base without even entering it then.

When you do intend to enter the base, make sure you bring some Grenadiers and/or Siege Tanks to deal with the Concrete Walls. Considering the threat of Sonic Tanks, it's important that your own forces are unobstructed.

The southwest unknown base is fairly dense with Gun Turrets compared to the northeast, but you won't have nearly as many Rocket Turrets to deal with. That doesn't mean it's a pushover either. The main entrance is covered very well by artillery and Gun Turrets, and you'll be flanked on your rear if you approach from midfield. The solution is more artillery! Bring some Missile Tanks and fire on their ConYard from below the cliff wall. When they send defense forces, keep your Missile Tanks protected with Combat Tanks and Quads until the job is done. That'll make storming their base tremendously easier.

Like with the northeast base, you can find the unknowns' Refineries and Wind Traps on protected cliff edges. The Refineries in particular are well-protected, but the Wind Traps are easy pickings for LRA back there.

The northwest base contains fifteen friendly Devastators. And, conveniently, it's the only base that produces Deviators. Going for this base means you kill two birds with one stone! You unleash fifteen powerful tanks on your enemies, and you eliminate the biggest threat to those tanks at the same time. The only downside is, you need to protect those Devastators. Losing them all means mission failure. You can easily protect them if you have only one enemy base left to destroy, but if both the northeast and southwest bases are still standing, you'll need to keep on top of those tanks as best you possibly can. They may be powerful, but they're most certainly not invincible.

There is more good news though. This final base is on flat terrain, meaning you don't need to deal with cliff walls! Just bring enough Quads to blow their ConYard and Wind Traps to bits, and you can loose those Devastators to clean up the stragglers. Without operational Gun Turrets, they'll make short work of the base.

If you do happen to unleash the Devastators before finishing off the northeast and/or southwest bases, have no fear. With the northwest base cleared, you'll be in the perfect position to attack the others from the rear. You'll have very good access to their Wind Traps; you can completely shut down their production and base defenses with a healthy helping of Missile Tanks and Siege Tanks, and then you can follow your Devastator friends wherever they want to go with whatever forces you've scrounged up to protect them.

In order to optimize your time on this map, you'd need to hit the final base first and deal with the escort for the rest of the mission. Easier said than done, I know, but that is the case. And it is fun to go wrecking the other bases alongside so many Devastators!

Anyway, when all three of the unknown enemies' bases are razed, you are victorious. Good luck!

S13V1: Lightning Round
Meet up with the mercenaries so you may strike out against the Ordos together.

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STRATEGY:
This is the final Light II level in the campaign.

Take your initial forces to the north and say hello to Durant. He'll inform you that while trying to build up and strike out against the Ordos, the unknowns showed up and set up nearby him. He'll also give you some MCVs, so take them and deploy one somewhere ASAP. I recommend the island where your forces started, and then you can take your second MCV somewhere else. Further east, most likely. You can kickstart your economy in peace at the first location, then build factories at the second for attacking the enemy.

Although Durant recommends the use of Quads to break down the enemy turrets, and that is a good idea, don't neglect to make some Raiders too! The unknowns will be using many Shock Raiders, and the Ordos will be using lots of infantry. Raiders will be very effective at countering their forces.

Durant will have a preference to go after the unknowns first. If you help him, he'll move against the Ordos with you later on, so that's what I recommend doing. Some of your Troopers can assist his infantry and you can easily take out the unknowns' turret nest early on. LAVs will have more success against their main base. If you can get some Quads and Grenadiers around the back, their Wind Traps are easy pickings then.

The Ordos are a bit more powerful, but the ridge guarding their base can also be their weakness. Once you take down the Outpost there, the Ordos will not be able to summon further reinforcements, and you can use the ridge to your advantage. If you haven't lost your Combat Tanks or Devastator yet, bring them up to the ridge along with a bunch of Grenadiers and let the Ordos infantry approach you. Your RPG Quads can help the Grenadiers out, but they alone will likely not suffice. While your heavy armor, Troopers and Quads fight off Ordos LAVs from the south, your anti-infantry can cover the rocky slope. If handled well, the Ordos base will have lost many of its defenders and you can push on in either from the west or south.

However you manage to do it, victory is yours once the unknowns and the Ordos are defeated. Good luck.

S13V2: Shrouded Skies
Capture the Ordos-controlled air bases and turn their Ornithopters against them.

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STRATEGY:
This is the final Light II level in the campaign.

Fend off the initial attack from the unknowns, then build up your economy and max your production. See what you can do to scout around while doing this. Although you could deploy your two MCVs immediately to max your building production, you may wish to set up closer to the enemy so you can keep the pressure high, or set up atop the ruins of a Control Node so you can better hold the air base.

No one has any anti-air on this map, so securing the air bases will net you massive benefits. Not only do you get the Ornithopters sent at the enemy instead of you, but any turrets left standing at the base where the Control Node was destroyed will support your forces. This makes destroying the Control Nodes without taking out too many turrets quite important for map control. The limited Sonic Tanks you get for this mission would be put to great use behind the walls and turrets at an air base you've secured. If not, simply put them closely behind your own walls or other units for the sake of defense.

When you're ready to attack, pick an enemy base and go hit it. The Ordos expansion in the southwest corner guards a secluded air base. You can sneak some Grenadiers up to the cliff wall and bombard the Control Node from below, rush some Quads in to quickly destroy it, or fight in with Troopers from the east side. Destroying the turrets there won't harm its defensiveness too much since there are more turrets closer to the Ordos expansion. As for the expansion itself, you can pick off the Wind Traps more easily if you approach from midfield, or approach from the southwest air base to get a good shot at its Refinery.

The central air base can be taken early in the game, and doing so would be massively advantageous since from there you could strike out anywhere else. It might be tricky to defend, so keep a close eye on its turrets and make sure they're all supported by your units. If you bring an MCV here, there is Spice around that you could harvest, and you can replace the walls in front of the turrets to keep the base fortified.

The unknowns' base in the northeast could be attacking the Ordos, but you might see them attacking you too. If they're giving you trouble, consider taking them out first. Their Wind Traps can be hit from the south side, and their Refineries cling to the west side of their base. Should you sneak around the north side of the nearby air base, you could secure it and push down towards the unknowns' ConYard from there.

The final base would be the Ordos one in the northwest corner. You can push in on them from the east more easily than from the south, although there is an infantry-only pathway near their southern base entrance that you could exploit to strike down their Wind Traps. Assuming the Ornithopters don't bomb them to bits for you, that is.

However you manage to do it, victory is yours once the unknowns and the Ordos are defeated. Good luck.

S14V1: Baklawa Brawl
Battle Tleilaxu forces alongside the mercenaries over completely open terrain.

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STRATEGY:
This map takes place on entirely flat terrain.

Shortly after the map begins, the Ordos will insist upon a cease-fire and will refuse to attack you. Don't worry about them; Durant will scout the territory for answers, so focus on building up your base. You will find that there are Tleilaxu in the region, and your objective now is to defeat them.

Do your best to balance your defenses with your economy. The enemy will send large waves of Combat Tanks and Sardaukar Gholas at you. Troopers and Grenadiers are inexpensive counter units, so garrison some infantry rock and position your armor around the infantry. Your Devastators will prove very effective at defense. You may also want to employ small groups of LAVs to flank enemy units that are attacking your allies.

This map is essentially a 3v3, so do your best to defend your allies and strike in unison with them against the enemy. If you'd like more pushing power, there are LOTS of places to set up a new MCV, more turrets, a Repair Pad, or whatever else you might want, all over the region. Move the battle closer to the enemy.

When you're ready to attack, the terrain gives you a lot of freedom with your potential attack vectors, so don't hesitate to circle around the enemy base with your LAVs while pushing on them from the front with your Combat Tanks. As with prior maps, aim for their power or economy. Their High Tech Factories are also priority targets since the enemy receives additional Sardaukar Ghola reinforcements as long as those are up. They may have walls in the way, but Grenadiers can quickly break those apart and create new avenues for your forces to push through.

If the enemy fortifications and defense forces are proving a bit too tough, take a group of Quads around and pick off enemy Harvesters where you can to choke off their economy.

Once all Tleilaxu forces are defeated, victory is yours. Good luck.

S14V2: Cliffhanger
Hunt for the Ordos through a winding territory infested with hostile Fremen.

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STRATEGY:
This mission includes something of an escort before the real action starts.

Follow behind Durant's Devastators. Be wary of the Tleilaxu Carryall drop behind you, and try to let Durant take the brunt of the damage as you fight your way up the ridge. Eventually, you will come across a Tleilaxu-occupied Sietch. You should have little trouble destroying it.

Once the Sietch is destroyed, your MCV will fly in and land on the rock island you passed by. Get started building your base while Durant goes to 'greet' the Ordos. At this time, the Ordos decide to ally with you against the Tleilaxu for the time being. They will send some units to help defend you and Durant as you build up.

The Tleilaxu will make use of Fremen Gholas, so try to keep your Sonic Tank alive so it can help defend your base. Use Grenadiers and Quads, or Raiders and Troopers, to cost-effectively defend yourself while building up your economy. Whenever you do attack, attack alongside the Ordos and mercenary forces. The first Tleilaxu position is surrounded by you and your allies, so keep hammering it and it'll go down.

Try to take out Sietches when you can. They will continuously spawn Fremen Gholas until destroyed.

Once all Tleilaxu forces are defeated, victory is yours. Good luck.

S15V1: Arsenal Immune
Defeat an explosive new superweapon to capture the Guild Spaceport.

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STRATEGY:
This level introduces a special new superweapon: Storm Lashers.

Pull two of your Troopers back to the south immediately. The last one will surely die, but he will do so having distracted the local SLasher. The area will be revealed, and Summers will issue an order to take out the local Wind Trap. Do so using your Grenadiers, then send all of your infantry to the northeast. Kill the enemy infantry, then do the same thing with the eastern Wind Trap. Destroy it with your Grenadiers only, who can stand safely just beyond the SLasher's blast radius, and then send all of your infantry to the northwest. Again, kill the enemy infantry, then destroy the northern Wind Trap. This will shut the SLasher down for good! Get all of your forces the rest of the way around, gather up your reinforcements, fight through the RPG Quad and the remaining enemy infantry, and then your MCVs will land in the Guild base. Deploy them and start building up, and don't forget to capture and protect the Starport. It's necessary for mission success!

Although the SLasher can protect your innermost base, you need to expand to the west to harvest the Spice. Get some armor and infantry out to protect your Refineries and Harvesters, and set up a Gun Turret or two if necessary. Light Infantry and normal Raiders can effectively fight the enemy Shock Raiders, but you will need some firepower to deal with the enemy Combat Tanks.

It's slower, but you could also drop Refineries inside the blast radius of your captured SLasher and use Carryalls to ferry them to the protected Spice fields behind the plateau atop which you deployed your MCV.

Your first goal should be to expand further north or west. You must snowball your economy and production. If you head north, there's a convenient ridge along which you could position Missile Tanks and Siege Tanks. To the west are more accessible Spice fields, so head that way if you feel the need for a greater economic advantage.

The enemy has three more Storm Lashers in their base. This is the most you will ever see them in just one base. Before attempting to breach their base defenses, make sure you have a healthy amount of units, and a healthy mixture too. You can further weaken them by hunting Harvesters or taking out the northeastern Starports.

When you feel ready to attack, follow Durant's forces up and try to push past the other enemy defenses, to the Storm Lasher. The enemy base is very well-protected and powered, so cutting the power or economy off completely is very difficult.

Remember, they will predictably re-acquire targets closer to them, so always keep a unit or two ahead of the rest while approaching one! This will minimize casualties. You can also attempt to cause collateral damage to the enemy base by positioning the Storm Lasher's target close to important enemy structures or fortifications, like Wind Traps or Concrete Walls.

It will be a tough fight, but if you manage to push through the enemy base, you should come out of this mission victorious, with an understanding of how to beat Storm Lashers: Be aware of their presence, use diversion tactics, and cause collateral damage where you can. Good luck!

S16V1: They Who Live
Rescue the Fremen and Sardaukar holdouts who are surrounded on all sides.

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STRATEGY:
You are surrounded on this mission, but at least you're in good company.

Get some mobile defense forces out as soon as possible. Having LAVs available to go and assist your allies with can greatly help you keep them alive. Your LRA and Grenadiers might also be put to best use behind the Fremen or Imperial turrets. While planning your defense, tech up to a Starport as soon as you can, too. Durant will be sending reinforcements, and you won't want to miss out.

Note that you must protect your allied commanders! The Fremen Sietch and Imperial Outpost cannot fall, or you will have failed the mission. To assist in this endeavor, you might want to capture an allied structure for access to their elite infantry. Sardaukar Elites require the Imperial Barracks and any High Tech Factory. Fremen Warriors require only the Palace of Diplomacy. Fremen Warriors can be trained at the same time as other infantry, but Sardaukar Elites are trained a bit faster.

The enemy's strongest bases are to the south, but they will attack from the north too. I recommend taking out the northern bases first so you can secure your half of the map. Each base has a SLasher in it, which will be reported by your allies when they're discovered, so only strike out when you can commit to the attack. Until then, keep building up and stay on top of both your allies! You must defend them.

Now that Stealth Raiders are available, you have a unique advantage against SLashers. If you can get a Stealth Raider right next to enemy walls, power, or even next to the SLasher itself before you reveal it, the SLasher will attack it instantly and cause massive damage to anything nearby. This can really help with exposing the enemy base!

Once you're ready to attack, overwhelm the northern enemy bases before assisting the Fremen or Sardaukar with their attacks. The northwestern enemy base is protected by a cliff wall, but the lack of Concrete Walls makes rushing in very simple, especially if you distract the SLasher's initial blasts until your main forces are close enough. The northeastern enemy base, by contrast, has some layers of Concrete Walls. Reveal Stealth Raiders next to them, then flood into the base with your main forces. The SLasher cannot hold out against such an attack.

The southern enemy bases are the ones launching Death Hands at you and deploying armor en masse. Luckily, their SLashers are fairly exposed, and you will have your allies' help. Scout with what Stealth Raiders remain after your attacks on the northern bases, use LRA to hit the southwest SLasher from below the cliff wall, and simply rush the southeast SLasher. You should win out if you've made it this far.

Good luck.

S16V2: Adept Automata
Compromise the enemy's Combat Tank production aboard their own Heighliner.

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STRATEGY:
You are without allies to start with on this mission, but you can snowball the map in your favor anyway.

Just like the air bases in S13V2, you can destroy Control Nodes nearby enemy autofactories to turn them friendly to you. This is critical for mission success, as at least one autofactory must be standing when you crush the main Guild base.

First things first, arrange your defenses as needed while the enemy hits you from all sides. Your friendly SLasher can help with the right and left flanks, but you'll need turrets at the top entrance. Get three or four Harvesters up - two on the Mass Deposit, two on the Supply Depot. That will cover your economic needs for the time being. Also, note that this map has a TON of clutter! You don't need to destroy everything you come across. Your priority targets are Guild turrets, SLashers, hostile robot tanks, their related Control Nodes, and the main Guild base at the center top area on this deck.

You must be aggressive. Heighliner maps are about map control, so if you're not feeling too confident, head to the right first. You'll find a Freighter there with some Light Combat Tanks for you, and you'll be able to secure another Mass Deposit easily. Keep an eye out for more Freighters while you progress through the map; there are five in total.

If you feel confident in your situation, head to the left instead. You'll find more Mass Deposits there, and an autofactory. Crush the nearby Guild defenses, including the SLasher, but don't harm the autofactory or its Wind Traps. Take out the Control Node in the bottom left corner and the robot tanks will start cleaning out the rest of the Guild structures for you. Make sure you keep the autofactory intact, though! The human Guild forces will attempt to destroy it once it's under your control.

Besides securing the Mass Deposit(s) to either the left or the right of your initial position, you can also capture Silos to boost your funds. They can be found virtually anywhere on the map, and often in great numbers.

Once you have the bottom areas of the map secure, push up. Securing the center will help you defend yourself and better organize your attacks, and there is notably an air tower with Ornithopters very nearby the central Base Platform. Capture it, and you can use the Ornithopters, for whatever they're worth.

The top left autofactory is a good distance away from the local SLasher, but you'll probably have to blow through the SLasher to get to it. Plus, there are Rocket Turrets neighboring the autofactory that you ought to clear out after wrecking the Control Node. The top right is similar.

I don't recommend attempting to destroy the main Guild base until after you've secured all three autofactories. With two SLashers in close proximity to each-other, excellent turret coverage, a high density of enemy units and structures, layers of walls, and vast sums of funds from all the resource gathering going on, you'll more than likely feed hundreds of tanks to the base before you get anywhere. That's what the autofactories are for! Strike from every direction along with your robot tank friends. Then, you'll completely overwhelm the base, regardless of its extremely resilient defenders.

Good luck.

SBON3: Against the Storm
Hold out against an onslaught of enemy units while you steal vital weapon data.

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STRATEGY:
This is a tower defense map. You're playing as the mercenaries.

Start by placing a Barracks and pumping out Light Infantry. As Summers suggests, position them on the right side of your starting platform so they can intercept the enemy infantry. A few groups will do, but continue training more. Light Infantry are good against Raiders, and you'll see some of those soon enough. Save a little bit of cash up for the Barracks upgrade, which will be available fairly early.

Don't forget to move your other units on other platforms to their own spots. The RPG Quad at midfield can help you with infantry or vehicles. You don't need to stack your infantry up tightly either! If you spread them out a little bit, they'll scatter their fire a bit more and it'll help you more evenly distribute your damage.

When Summers warns of incoming vehicles, move your Light Infantry to the main path and position Grenadiers on the right side to handle enemy infantry. You only need five or so Grenadiers to have that area totally covered, for now. Besides the Grenadiers, start getting Troopers out for the enemy vehicles on the main path. They'll go to great use on the left or bottom-left sides of your starting platform. You'll need those Troopers on the left side before long to deal with the small wave of enemy Devastators, and what other vehicles they'll send.

The enemy will drop some infantry on your platform to attack your base at some point. Your Raiders should be able to handle them.

When the MCV arrives at the central platform, place a Barracks there and get some Troopers and Grenadiers out as soon as possible. Your Troopers will need to take out the enemy Combat Tanks moving up the path along the right side of the central platform, and your Grenadiers will need to handle the enemy Sardaukar Gholas that will head up the infantry-only path on the left. If you can handle this wave, you're about in the clear for the intermission between waves ten and eleven.

During the intermission, I recommend upgrading your ConYard and placing a second Refinery at the central platform. That will help you afford turrets, which can be placed at any of the turret slots lining the path.

While you mass turrets and get more infantry out nearby them, train some Grenadiers and spread them behind your Troopers or Gun Turrets along the main path. Have them force-fire on the main path to detect stealth units. A wave consisting purely of Stealth Raiders will spawn, as Summers will warn you, so you must detect them with your Grenadiers before they slip by all your defenses.

The enemy will drop more units at midfield near the Guild Wind Traps. If you intend to capture them so you can power more turrets, you must be swift to protect them! Use your RPG Quad and whatever infantry you have available.

A new MCV will arrive for you in the top left. Once again, deploy it and set up a Barracks. And while you're at it, capture the Research Centre in the center-left area. An Engineer will have arrived for you there as well.

You'll need to deploy Light Infantry en masse to fight off the wave of Missile Tanks from the right. Some Gun Turrets couldn't hurt either. After that, make sure you send more Grenadiers to the left infantry-only along the central platform. You'll need ten to fifteen Grenadiers to completely ensure the following massive wave of Fremen Gholas fails to get through.

A third and final Carryall drop will strike your bottom base, and try to take out your Outpost. This comes before several waves that appear rapidly from different locations, so it's inconvenient to lose your Outpost at this time. Use whatever infantry are available to defeat the RPG Quads and Flame Tank.

Get some Troopers out at your top base to fend off the incoming Devastators. Whatever spare funds you've got can be put towards Rocket Turrets to fill in any empty turret slots. And after doing all that, the final wave should be cake! Enjoy the fireworks as you claim victory. Good luck.

S17V1: The Ixian Godslayer
Protect the Ixian research critical to finishing off what your enemy is cultivating.

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STRATEGY:
You're fighting without an ally at all on this mission, pretty much. The Ix don't count! They don't build any new units, and they rely on you for their success.

Pick a spot to deploy your MCV. The west rock island is a nice staging ground for attacking the center or left enemies first, while it allows you to easily intercept enemy units en route to the Ix. The east island is significantly more comfortable in size, but demands some attention be paid to the Ixian Research Centre.

Because Aurelianus reveals the areas around SLashers on this mission, you should train some Light Infantry right away and send them to the other corners of the map. You'll get a nice view of the enemy bases and be better informed when the time comes to strike out.

Enemy Saboteurs will hound you, so keep some more Light Infantry spread around anything you don't want to get blown up without any warning. Gun Turrets don't work against Saboteurs since if discovered, Saboteurs will abandon their intended target and go straight for whatever's shooting them. This is the other important reason to scout - so you can see those stealthy pricks coming before they enable their cloaking devices.

You'll eventually get reinforcements from the Imperials. Among them are some Flame Tanks, which are incredibly effective at clearing enemy infrastructure, but they're also quite easy to destroy. While you use your main forces to clear out the enemy's units and defenses, bring the Flame Tanks in with your other siege units to rapidly clear out an entire enemy base.

When you're ready to attack, the central island can be secured to give you significantly greater map control, but the base is tougher than it might appear. You'll need to take down the enemy Sonic Tanks and Deviators, and that combination of LRA is very troublesome. Not to mention that the base will be protected by Sardaukar Gholas and Flame Tanks. Bring armor and swarm the LRA with some Raiders and Quads. Or, try to mess with them a bit using Stealth Raiders first, and maybe you can get them sent back for repairs before rolling into the base. Either way, it's going to take plenty of elbow grease to pry that small, but tough base open.

The northwest and southeast bases actually produce units to throw at you, so they may be better targets to hit first, as inconvenient as that central enemy base is. The northwest base has a SLasher in a very inconvenient position for you, but once you take that out, a squad of infantry can sneak up the slope near the top of the map and take down the enemy Wind Traps fairly easily. Regarding the SLasher: Try to keep some Combat Tanks up near their Duelist Tanks, Concrete Walls, or Barracks. It'll help you blow through their defenses before you take it down. The southeast base is relatively simple to take out, but it is guarded by a small Tleilaxu base on the plateau. Luckily, both the Tleilaxu SLasher on said plateau and the Guild SLasher in the southeast base are located on the edge of the cliff wall with no other defenses nearby, so you can rush a bunch of Quads and Combat Tanks up to take them out quickly.

The southwest enemy base is the toughest all-around. Try to snipe the Harvesters outside their base before you head in, and when you do head in, go for their factories, Starport, and Palaces as soon as you can. Their Refineries are fairly exposed like their Harvesters are, but they'll still have considerable strength due to the sheer size of their base.

Once the Guild and Tleilaxu forces are defeated, the Ixian research is safe and victory is yours. Good luck.

S17V2: Power Play for Keeps
Destroy the enemy atomics and air fleets to deny their use in the final battle.

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STRATEGY:
You're fighting without an ally at all on this mission, pretty much. And that's a damn shame, because the enemy will not let up.

After the Carryalls fly in and bomb the enemy Wind Traps, rush in with your Stealth Raiders and scout your initial rock island. Take out any enemy infantry you find, and start capturing whatever you want with your Engineers. You'll have eight in total after two more fly in, so choose wisely which things you want to capture first. I certainly recommend taking both enemy ConYards and some Wind Traps to help you kickstart your base building.

Since your goal is to take out several enemy superweapons, expect atomics and airstrikes to head your way. You can capture the Palace and HTF at your initial position, but you'll need to protect them from enemy attacks. They can be very helpful with sniping important enemy structures, such as their own Palaces and HTFs, so don't discard them right away.

Remember, you need to upgrade your HTF and construct an Outpost to sortie Ornithopters.

Your base is wide, but short, so the enemy may attack from the sides if it's a better angle. You can't condense your base too much, though, or enemy superweapons will devastate it. Keep a mobile defense force ready to respond to enemy attacks wherever they might hit your base while you build up. Turrets could be useful along the cliff edges leading to your central base, so consider dropping them there, at least.

If you're having trouble with your economy at all, there is a large Spice field to the west of your initial position neighboring a tall rock island. Consider deploying an MCV there for the sake of harvesting that Spice, or for getting a better angle of attack on the enemy positions.

Since you have Stealth Raiders to start with, try to scout what you can with them from the start. You might even be able to weaken the enemy a bit if you manage to use them successfully to take down a Palace, or if you eat some of their Harvesters. If not, you can at least figure out where the important targets are so you can airstrike / nuke them when your supers are ready.

When you're ready to attack, hit the closest enemy Refineries to starve the central base of resources, or go straight for that central factories to eliminate the threat entirely. A SLasher guards the pass leading south from the central / northeast expansions, but you can safely approach the main enemy base from the west. You could also send infantry up the eastern infantry-only and try to take a Wind Trap or two, but you might have better luck dropping a Death Hand on the Wind Traps just behind the main base's Rocket Turrets, and then pushing through with your main forces.

The southwest expansion guards other avenues into the main enemy position, so that could also be a good target for your following attacks. Taking it out will give you much easier access to the southern base, and you can sweep up all the other enemy positions from there.

Once the Guild and Tleilaxu forces are defeated, the enemy cannot use such devastating weapons against you in the final battle. Good luck.

S18V1: Summers' Solstice
Fight your way up to the sleeping God and slay it before it awakens.

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STRATEGY:
This is the most complex map ever designed for the game. Good luck!

Immediately arrange your artillery units behind the turrets, move your Combat Tanks and Duelist Tanks away from the walls a little bit, and prepare whatever forces remain to respond accordingly to where you may need them. The enemy will send a massive attack your way very early on! Use your armor units to delay the enemy and keep them away from the SLashers for as long as you can. When they fall, repair your fortifications as much as possible, and move your Missile Tanks, Siege Tanks, and Grenadiers back as walls crumble and turrets are destroyed. If all goes well, you should survive with your Palaces intact, and some defense forces to work with.

If you've lost, build a Barracks, Light Factory, or Heavy Factory to start with and try to delay the enemy for longer on your next attempt. Sell your Silos if you need more power.

This mission has a two hour time limit. The timer will appear not long after the map begins, but there's no time to waste before it shows up, either. Get your economy rolling, set up some factories, and erect some turrets while you're at it. Whatever LRA survived the initial attack should be positioned behind your new turrets! The enemy will not let up, so it's important to make your position as defensible as possible so you can focus on attacking. You'll also need to spread some infantry around so no Saboteurs can sneak by and snipe your ConYard. They'll try to do that.

The ridge in front of your base can be used with LRA as well. As the enemy tries to attack your units, have them cling to the cliff wall where your LRA can fire on them, but not the other way around. Anything you can do to help efficiently trade with the enemy, you must do.

You'll need to expand to secure more Spice. Your massive stockpile of funds to start with won't last you forever, although it will help you out. There's a rock island east of your initial position that is in a pretty good spot. You'll need to fortify it a bit, keep LRA on the cliff edge, but using it will help you stay afloat. Otherwise, you should take out the enemy base just south of you as soon as you can.

One of the Heavy Factories in the base can be hit by LRA from the east. The western Heavy Factory is guarded by a SLasher, which makes it a prime target for a Death Hand Missile. You could also disable the SLasher by heading up the infantry-only nearby the local ConYard, but they will attempt to rebuild their Wind Traps. You must follow up by pushing into the base with units, or your advantage will be lost.

Once you've trashed all the turrets in the base closest to you, an MCV will fly in where the enemy Heavy Factories used to be, if you need it. You can set up some turrets on the east edge of the cliff wall to help fend off more enemy attacks. Be wary, though, of further attacks from the south.

Your next course of action should be to either strike out at the next enemy base where the enemy has prioritized production, to the east, or strike out at the base closer to the enemy commander, to the south. Hitting the eastern base will reduce the enemy's options, and back them into a corner where they can hardly fight. Attacking the southern base first could be met with resistance from several angles, so capture the ConYard there with extreme caution - and by extreme caution, I mean a big army.

The only way to get to the enemy commander is by blowing through a ton of Rocket Turrets. Throwing tanks at them is useless. Instead, capture the Guild ConYard in the southern base and start deploying Storm Lashers close to the Rocket Turrets. You'll need one Wind Trap to power every SLasher. To build them in the first place, you need to upgrade your ConYard and build a Research Centre. You must defend the captured Guild ConYard until every Rocket Turret is destroyed, or the mission is failed.

If you make it past the Rocket Turret wall, fight your way through what little remains of the enemy defenses and destroy the Tleilaxu ConYard to kill the enemy commander, achieve victory, and officially complete the campaign all at once. Congratulations!

 

Glossary of Units & Structures:

Spoiler

INFANTRY
Infantry are slow and very easy to kill, but they are inexpensive, have respectable range and firepower, and self-heal. They can:
 - Garrison infantry rock to fortify a position or provide cover for mobile forces.
 - Deter enemy LAVs or stealth units from surgical strikes (when spread out).
 - Deal the most damage per second of any unit (when stacked up tight).

Light Infantry
Intel Entry - Light Infantry are the most basic armed unit and have a combat life expectancy of only a few seconds. They are cheap and simple to train, making them very easy to recruit in droves. They pose a threat mostly to enemy infantry, but they can effectively fight enemy LAVs if in enough numbers.
Tech Level - 0 (Basic)
Requires - Barracks
Strength - Anti-infantry
HitPoints - 600
BuildSpeed - ~5 secs
Cost - 50 Solaris
Range - 2 tiles
ROF - 1 sec
DPS - 100

Trooper
Intel Entry - Rocket launcher-armed infantry trained to effectively destroy vehicles and structures. Troopers are an excellent deterrent against LAVs when scattered among rock formations, but Combat Tanks and LRA can outrange them.
Tech Level - 1 (Light)
Requires - Barracks (upgraded)
Strength - Anti-vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 700
BuildSpeed - ~8.5 secs
Cost - 80 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 1.6 secs
DPS - ~188

Grenadier
Intel Entry - Grenadiers are quick infantry ideal for supporting LAVs, armor, or fortifications. Being extremely dangerous to other infantry and capable of hitting targets atop cliffs and over walls, they are best deployed in small numbers and used with caution.
Tech Level - 2 (Light II)
Requires - Barracks (upgraded), Outpost
Strength - Anti-infantry / structure
HitPoints - 700
BuildSpeed - ~9.5 secs
Cost - 100 Solaris
Range - 4 tiles
ROF - 2 secs
DPS - ~88 (area-effect) / 100 (area-effect, on death)

Engineer
Intel Entry - Engineers are responsible for organizing construction, keeping data secure, and diagnosing and fixing problems within your base. They can be deployed to the battlefield to disrupt enemy operations and they can even provide you direct control over enemy structures. However, due to their lack of armament and combat experience, they must be escorted to the enemy base to have any chance of capturing anything.
Tech Level - 4 (Utility)
Requires - Barracks (upgraded), Outpost
Special - Permanently capture structure
HitPoints - 500
BuildSpeed - ~26.5 secs
Cost - 400 Solaris

Fremen Warrior
Intel Entry - Native desert inhabitants of Dune. Fremen Warriors are vastly superior to other infantry and can even match Sardaukar Elites in combat. They are extremely distrustful of outsiders and tend to be openly hostile, though this attitude varies between Sietches.
Tech Level - 7 (Ultimate)
Requires - Palace of Diplomacy
Exclusive - Atreides, Fremen, Ix
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 800
BuildSpeed - ~14 secs
Cost - 200 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 1.6 secs
DPS - ~156

Sardaukar Elite
Intel Entry - Emperor Corrino's fearsome soldier-fanatics. Sardaukar Elites are armed with powerful weapons equally effective against infantry, vehicles, and structures, and can take the most punishment of any infantry on Dune.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Barracks, High Tech Factory
Exclusive - Imperials
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 900
BuildSpeed - ~11.5 secs
Cost - 200 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 2 secs
DPS - 150

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LIGHT ARMORED VEHICLES
LAVs, or Light Armored Vehicles, are fragile but fast and hard-hitting. They can:
 - Intercept or flank any other ground units in the game.
 - Effectively bypass sparse enemy defenses with their speed.
 - Provide excellent mobile support for slower units, like infantry.

Trike
Intel Entry - Trikes are fast light vehicles armed with machine guns. While unable to be fitted with special modules, and less effective than the Raiders deployed by certain parties on Arrakis, their inexpensive simplicity makes them popular with most factions.
Tech Level - 1 (Light)
Requires - Light Factory
Exclusive - Atreides, Harkonnen, Imperials, Fremen, Ix
Strength - Anti-infantry
HitPoints - 900
BuildSpeed - ~19 secs
Cost - 300 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 0.8 secs
DPS - ~219

Raider
Intel Entry - Raiders are interceptors suitable for catching and killing infantry or Missile Tanks with their mounted machine guns. They're considerably more expensive than their Atreides or Harkonnen counterparts, but they're also much more effective.
Tech Level - 1 (Light)
Requires - Light Factory
Exclusive - Ordos, Smugglers, Mercenaries
Strength - Anti-infantry
HitPoints - 1000
BuildSpeed - ~19 secs
Cost - 350 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 0.72 secs
DPS - ~243

Stealth Raider
Intel Entry - The Stealth Raider is the ultimate scouting and ambush vehicle. A swarm of Stealth Raiders can eat tanks in seconds and escape to repair before the enemy knows what hit them. Its cloaking system requires a High Tech Factory to manufacture.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Light Factory, High Tech Factory
Exclusive - Ordos, Smugglers, Mercenaries
Special - Permanent out-of-combat invisibility
Strength - Anti-infantry
HitPoints - 1000
BuildSpeed - ~22 secs
Cost - 400 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 0.72 secs
DPS - ~243

Shock Raider
Intel Entry - Raiders outfitted with plasma weaponry similar to Devastators' cannons. The Shock Raider is an expensive light vehicle with precise attacks effective against all targets. In addition, their attacks can arc over Concrete Walls. Despite these advantages, Shock Raiders are no tougher than standard Raiders, and have an even shorter range.
Tech Level - 8 (Boss)
Requires - Light Factory, Research Centre
Exclusive - Atreides, Ordos, Imperials, Fremen, Smugglers, Mercenaries, Ix
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 1000
BuildSpeed - ~33 secs
Cost - 500 Solaris
Range - 2 tiles
ROF - 1.12 secs
DPS - ~161

Quad
Intel Entry - Quads are rocket-toting LAVs ideal for surgical strikes against vehicles or structures. Despite their fragility, their firepower is an essential component of your military strength. They're cheap enough to be easily mass-produced.
Tech Level - 2 (Light II)
Requires - Light Factory (upgraded)
Strength - Anti-vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 1100
BuildSpeed - ~26.5 secs
Cost - 400 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 1.2 secs
DPS - ~313

RPG Quad
Intel Entry - RPG Quads are an uncommon hybrid seen only in the early stages of conflict, if at all. Although rare and expensive, and no tougher than typical Quads, RPG Quads are remarkably versatile. Not only can they engage enemies both in close range and from afar, even over walls, but they also make excellent scouts. Their good range and speed make them especially effective rapid response units.
Tech Level - 4 (Utility)
Requires - Light Factory, Outpost, High Tech Factory
Exclusive - Ix
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 1100
BuildSpeed - ~33 secs
Cost - 500 Solaris
Range - 3 / 5 tiles
ROF - 1.6 secs
DPS - ~109 (area-effect, anti-infantry / structure) / ~234 (anti-vehicle / structure)

Flame Tank
Intel Entry - A shock-and-awe weapon deployed by the most brutal of regimes. The Flame Tank is built to quickly seize territory and clear enemy infantry and infrastructure in a blaze of glory. Its mounted flamethrower can project a continuous stream of fire onto specific nearby targets, rapidly incinerating one after another. It's also heavy enough to crush infantry. Although this makes the Flame Tank a major threat in close range, it notably deals extremely low damage to concrete fortifications by nature, and it cannot spew fire over Concrete Walls. It is a big, juicy target for explosive weapons, such as rockets or grenades.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Light Factory (upgraded), High Tech Factory
Exclusive - Harkonnen, Imperials
Strength - Anti-infantry / structure
HitPoints - 1800
BuildSpeed - ~33 secs
Cost - 600 Solaris
Range - 2 tiles
ROF - 0.32 secs
DPS - ~313

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ARMOR
Units designated "Armor" excel at damage absorption. They can:
 - Effectively assault fortified positions given their excellent HP.
 - Win extended battles of attrition against weaker enemy units.
 - Safeguard weaker friendly units while they perform their roles.

Light Combat Tank
Intel Entry - Light Combat Tanks sacrifice armor for speed in both motion and firing. Although they cannot soak so much damage, they can escape any other tank and occupy territory without giving the enemy much time to react. And, they remain suitable for frontal assault.
Tech Level - 3 (Armor)
Requires - Heavy Factory
Exclusive - Ordos, Fremen, Smugglers
Strength - Anti-vehicle
HitPoints - 1800
BuildSpeed - ~35.5 secs
Cost - 700 Solaris
Range - 4 tiles
ROF - 1.6 secs
DPS - ~188

Medium Combat Tank
Intel Entry - Medium Combat Tanks are well-rounded units in motion, firepower, and armor. They are perfectly suited to assaulting fortified enemy positions, covering friendly units, and quickly responding to attacks. However, they do not stand out in any one area. Like against any other Combat Tank, Troopers are an effective counter.
Tech Level - 3 (Armor)
Requires - Heavy Factory
Exclusive - Atreides, Imperials, Ix
Strength - Anti-vehicle
HitPoints - 2200
BuildSpeed - ~35.5 secs
Cost - 700 Solaris
Range - 4 tiles
ROF - 2 secs
DPS - 150

Heavy Combat Tank
Intel Entry - Heavy Combat Tanks sacrifice speed in both motion and firing for superior armor. Despite inferior firepower to other tanks, their sturdiness is unmatched. Gunfire and grenades won't so much as dent them, and they can flatten squads of Troopers long before their rockets penetrate the tanks' armor.
Tech Level - 3 (Armor)
Requires - Heavy Factory
Exclusive - Harkonnen, Mercenaries
Strength - Anti-vehicle
HitPoints - 2800
BuildSpeed - ~35.5 secs
Cost - 700 Solaris
Range - 4 tiles
ROF - 2.4 secs
DPS - 125

Duelist Tank
Intel Entry - Durable weapons of Ixian design used primarily by the Ordos and smugglers. Duelist Tanks are meant to draw fire to cover other units. Although the Duelist Tank is good against any one unit with few exceptions, true to its name, it performs poorly against quick or long-ranged enemy targets. A pair of Quads can catch and destroy Duelist Tanks with ease. And, unlike Combat Tanks, Duelist Tanks cannot out-range Troopers with their cannons.
Tech Level - 5 (Advanced)
Requires - Heavy Factory, Research Centre
Exclusive - Ordos, Smugglers
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 2500
BuildSpeed - ~38.5 secs
Cost - 800 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 2.2 secs
DPS - ~136

Devastator
Intel Entry - The toughest tank on Dune. Devastators are the monstrous combination of Ixian design and Harkonnen industry. Their dual plasma cannons are extremely effective at close range, and they provide excellent cover for any weaker unit. Although very slow, they are more heavily armored than any other vehicle and can automatically self-repair to a point. These self-repair systems can assist a Repair Pad in efficiently restoring a Devastator's hull integrity to maximum. As a last resort, a Devastator can detonate its internal reactor to annihilate all nearby targets.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Heavy Factory (upgraded), Research Centre
Exclusive - Harkonnen
Special - Self-destruct
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 2800
BuildSpeed - ~51 secs
Cost - 1100 Solaris
Range - 3 tiles
ROF - 2.6 secs
DPS - ~346 (anti-infantry / vehicle / structure) / 4800 (self-destruct)

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LONG-RANGE ARTILLERY
Long-Range Artillery do as their name implies. They're the most expensive units and tend to move slowly, but their range and damage output are excellent!
 - All LRA can attack over walls.
 - They have the longest range of any unit in the game.
 - They excel at burst damage. Each attack deals high damage.

Siege Tank
Intel Entry - The Siege Tank is a cannon on treads capable of annihilating huge packs of infantry or most enemy structures in very few blasts. They're fairly cumbersome and can be destroyed easily by Quads and Combat Tanks, but they excel at razing a base after its defenses have been penetrated, or at defending your base from incoming enemy forces. They are also the best weapon for blowing through Concrete Walls. An upgraded Heavy Factory and a High Tech Factory are both required to manufacture these weapons.
Tech Level - 5 (Advanced)
Requires - Heavy Factory (upgraded), High Tech Factory
Strength - Anti-infantry / structure
HitPoints - 1800
BuildSpeed - ~42 secs
Cost - 900 Solaris
Range - 5 tiles
ROF - 3.2 secs
DPS - ~156

Missile Tank
Intel Entry - The Missile Tank is a mobile rocket launcher with impressive range and firepower. Though vulnerable to fire from Light Infantry or Raiders, their armor is built to withstand attacks from Combat Tanks or Quads. They can fire over walls, at air units, and provide long-range support for turrets.
Tech Level - 5 (Advanced)
Requires - Heavy Factory, Research Centre
Exclusive - Atreides, Harkonnen, Imperials, Fremen, Mercenaries, Ix
Strength - Anti-vehicle / air / structure
HitPoints - 1400
BuildSpeed - ~42 secs
Cost - 900 Solaris
Range - 6 tiles
ROF - 5 secs
DPS - 120

Sonic Tank
Intel Entry - The ultimate siege weapon. Sonic Tanks are weapons of Ixian design based on Weirding Modules, mounted atop a lightly armored chassis conceived by the Atreides. They are extremely effective against any ground target, but may require alignment to be used to maximum effectiveness as they annihilate targets in a straight line from their location. They can be overwhelmed if surrounded, and their tall cannons cannot rotate downwards to damage targets very nearby the treads.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Heavy Factory (upgraded), Research Centre
Exclusive - Atreides, Fremen, Ix
Special - Path damage
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 2800
BuildSpeed - ~51 secs
Cost - 1100 Solaris
Range - 5 tiles
ROF - 3.4

Deviator
Intel Entry - A unique support unit. Deviators are fast, lightly armored missile platforms of Ixian design commissioned by House Ordos. Contrary to widely-disseminated lies, Deviators' attacks do in fact release a poison that affects the drivers of vehicles, not the vehicles themselves. Since the gas works only in the closed space of vehicle cockpits, its pressurized canisters toss infantry with concussive force, and nothing more. Deviators also have the longest range of any Ixian tech on the field and can wreak havoc on enemy forces like no other unit.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Heavy Factory (upgraded), Research Centre
Exclusive - Ordos, Smugglers
Special - Temporarily capture vehicle
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle
HitPoints - 1400
BuildSpeed - ~51 secs
Cost - 1100 Solaris
Range - 6 tiles
ROF - 5 secs
DPS - 100 (anti-infantry)

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SPECIAL FORCES
Superweapons, pretty much.

Ornithopter
Intel Entry - House Atreides' magnificent air fleet dominates the skies of Dune. The cornerstone of their fleet is the Ornithopter, a fast winged aircraft sortied from the Atreides' High Tech Factory and coordinated from the Outpost. Their bombs are effective against all targets, and they can attack with near-impunity from the air. The presence of Ornithopters on the field demands the use of Missile Tanks and Rocket Turrets, their only deterrents.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Outpost, High Tech Factory (upgraded)
Exclusive - Atreides, Fremen, Ix
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 900
BuildSpeed - 461 secs (3x)
Damage - 400 (per bomb, area-effect)

Saboteur
Intel Entry - Saboteurs are fearless, quick, and stealthy infantry deployed from the Palace of Deceit. Armed only with explosives and utter apathy for their own lives, courtesy of mental tampering, they desire only to destroy whichever structure they're tasked with infiltrating. Should infiltration be impossible, Saboteurs may detonate their explosives in close proximity to enemy units to deal heavy damage to them. While fragile, they can sneak past enemy defenses with their personal cloaking devices. Turrets and infantry in close proximity can reveal cloaked Saboteurs.
Tech Level - 7 (Ultimate)
Requires - Palace of Deceit
Exclusive - Ordos, Smugglers, Mercenaries
Special - Temporary out-of-combat invisibility
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
HitPoints - 500
BuildSpeed - ~184.5 secs
Range - 1 tile
Damage - 1800 (self-destruct)

Death Hand Missile
Intel Entry - The ultimate superweapon. The Death Hand is a fairly precise warhead launched from the Palace of Destruction that annihilates all but the toughest targets. When a Death Hand is launched, you will be alerted. It's recommended you evacuate forces from the missile's suspected destination, if possible. This weapon is most often used by the Harkonnen and can only be stopped by destroying the palace.
Tech Level - 7 (Ultimate)
Requires - Palace of Destruction
Exclusive - Harkonnen, Imperials
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle / structure
BuildSpeed - 461 secs
Damage - 300 (per fragment, area-effect)

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BASE DEFENSES
Your durable, but totally immobile fortifications.

Concrete Wall
Intel Entry - Crude barriers capable of blocking most attacks and impeding the movement of enemy troops. They're effective protection for turrets or LRA, but cannot last against focused fire. Grenadiers can break them with ease.
Tech Level - 2 (Light II)
Requires - Construction Yard
HitPoints - 700
BuildSpeed - 5 secs
Cost - 25 Solaris

Gun Turret
Intel Entry - Long-range rotating cannons best fortified behind Concrete Walls and supported by LRA. While sturdy and effective against all targets, their utter immobility leaves them vulnerable to a concentrated attack. In addition, their power can be cut by destroying enough Wind Traps.
Tech Level - 4 (Utility)
Requires - Construction Yard (upgraded)
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle
HitPoints - 2800
BuildSpeed - ~26.5 secs
Cost - 800 Solaris
Range - 6 tiles
ROF - 2.2 secs
DPS - ~136

Rocket Turret
Intel Entry - Long-range rotating missile platforms best fortified behind Concrete Walls and supported by LRA. While sturdy and effective against all targets, their utter immobility leaves them vulnerable to a concentrated attack. In addition, their power can be cut by destroying enough Wind Traps.
Tech Level - 6 (Advanced II)
Requires - Construction Yard (upgraded), Research Centre
Strength - Anti-vehicle / air
HitPoints - 3500
BuildSpeed - ~33 secs
Cost - 1100 Solaris
Range - 7 tiles
ROF - 3.8 secs
DPS - ~158

Storm Lasher
Intel Entry - The most advanced stationary defense structure. Its capacitors keep a fully-charged shot ready to instantly strike targets at twice the range of Rocket Turrets with enough power to destroy weak units in one attack. Its only fault is its rate of fire. And, it predictably re-acquires targets nearer to it once its first target has moved out of range or been destroyed. Like other base defenses, the Storm Lasher requires power to function.
Tech Level - 8 (Boss)
Requires - Construction Yard (upgraded), Research Centre
Strength - Anti-infantry / vehicle
HitPoints - 4200
BuildSpeed - ~44 secs
Cost - 2000 Solaris
Range - 14 tiles
ROF - 10 secs
DPS - 180 (area-effect)

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COMMANDERS
While technically not part of the game mechanics, there are several prominent commanders appearing in this campaign. They embody their respective factions' identities in how they act and the sorts of units they prefer in battle.

Cyril Vasiliou
     The honorable Atreides commander. Atreides infantry are fiercely loyal to their duke, and the commander is no exception. Only these suave diplomats could manage an alliance with the distrustful native Fremen, but that sort of relationship takes time to cultivate. The Atreides must rely on their own forces in the meantime. While respectable, don't mistake honor for kindness. The Atreides fiercely and violently oppose their enemies.

Radnor Krillys
     The ruthless Harkonnen commander. The war-mongering Harkonnen are industrious and tough. While it's impossible to find love for them, their malevolence and brutality are nevertheless admirable. They are a force to be reckoned with even without any allies. Although those who don't oppose them - and therefore aren't destroyed - enjoy considerable security benefits, they are more than likely extorted to no end.

Achen Moriaen
     The enigmatic Ordos commander, or so she seemed. It was thought that House Ordos was wealthy and headed not by a single entity, but a conglomerate of nobility. This is not the case; the strange truth is that a being called the Executrix commands them, and it is four minds sharing one body. Like the House itself, Achen Moriaen is duplicitous, callous, and cunning. And as it turns out, Achen Moriaen's true loyalties lie elsewhere...

Kyne Giraud
     The fanatical Imperial Burseg. He commands the most ruthless army in the known universe in service to Emperor Corrino, but strength is only a footnote in his many qualities. His efforts in espionage and sabotage in battle keeps the Imperials firmly in place at the top on Arrakis.

Issam Nehara
     Naib of Sietch Mushtamal. His Fremen are gladly isolated in the howling crevices of the winding, windswept ridge. Even though they are easily spotted by trespassers, Nehara himself is a master of stealth and can personally ensure their safety.

Rowe Summers
     The resourceful ex-mercenary commander. While she shows weakness in caring for those under her command, she is remarkably obstinate. She can even be belligerent towards dissidents, although this tends to be reactive as her default aims are typically innocuous. She is unusually hands-on and will often personally oversee battles.

Ketua Sumadi
     The stealthy head of the largest smuggling organization on Arrakis. Ketua Sumadi has impressively turned a profit time and time again even as superior forces hunt his men down. He is known to micromanage his subordinates to propagate his modus operandi and ensure profits are made. And if that doesn't work, he will silence the opposition. This has angered some of his even more ambitious underlings, including Rowe Summers, who see potential in dealing with the Great Houses.

Sabre Durant
     The resilient mercenary commander. Through his strong relationship with Ketua Sumadi and Rowe Summers, he's gained much popularity and guaranteed relatively safe work for the many under his command. However, he is largely dependent on Sumadi's smugglers to operate and will do almost anything to maintain business with Sumadi. He is known to put his hefty fees towards the toughest units available.

Kailea Aurelianus
     The helpful Ixian commander. She is a cymek responsible for overseeing the production of incredible new technologies commissioned by the Great Houses for use in the war for Arrakis. Sumadi's smugglers, Durant's mercenaries, the Spacing Guild, CHOAM Company, and other independent factions of less importance are responsible for the safe and swift distribution of that technology.

Download Link:
Summers' Solstice.zip

Don't have Dune to run this on for some reason, or want a fresh installation? Here ya go:
https://dunemaster.webs.com/files

Installation & Execution:
1. Unpack the downloaded zip.
2. Merge the data folder inside the downloaded zip with the data folder in your D2k directory. Overwrite everything.
3. Launch the "Mission Launcher" application in your D2k directory. Navigate to "All Missions," then "Smugglers."

Uninstallation:
1. Merge the data folder inside the backup folder inside the downloaded zip with the data folder in your D2k directory. Overwrite everything.

That's all. Enjoy!

Edited April 23, 2020 by Fey
Fixed a rare game-breaking glitch on S09V2 and SBON3. Also added that swanky new Flame Tank... 😋

[Cm_blast]

"Unknown Base Defense", simply great.

Finally the campaign it's done; I already played earlier versions, but I want to see the new stuff you added and the adjustments from those maps; this campaign will keep me busy for a while, but at least I will come back to play more dune 2000.

I am really curious what will happen half-way the campaign, but I will play all the missions done.
 

[Fey]

On 1/13/2020 at 4:48 AM, Cm_blast said:

"Unknown Base Defense", simply great.

😂 You know exactly what that thing is!

On 1/13/2020 at 4:48 AM, Cm_blast said:

Finally the campaign it's done; I already played earlier versions, but I want to see the new stuff you added and the adjustments from those maps; this campaign will keep me busy for a while, but at least I will come back to play more dune 2000.

I am really curious what will happen half-way the campaign, but I will play all the missions done.
 

I'm certain you'll find that everything is infinitely more polished. I did quite a lot of work to make this a good campaign! Best as I could make it.

[Cm_blast]

Alright; It took me some time to play the 30 missions, but now I finish.

This is a great campaign, or, should I said, the best version of the campaign (I already played the first half some time before); it was a hard map with tons of contents, new units and those unknown structures that were annoying to deal with but not in a boring way.

Also I like the new versions of the old maps, they didn't took me +2 hours to beat, but much less; maybe I optimized a bit the expansion areas deploying more bases and more factories than needed but still, the few touches on the design of the map, the way the AI behaves and so on makes this campaign much more enjoyable now.

It has tons of briefing to read, and I am so bad at names that half the time I don't remember which commander command which faction, but still, I could get at least the core point on the game, the enemies you face and the reasons here and there to fight.

This is indeed a well crafted campaign, with lots of works with the new artworks, new structures that add something new into the game withouth just turning the whole campaign in a mess, although It can be arguable how specific units change on the power vs certain buildings, I think it has some kind of balance, although now everythings it's more expensive, but anyway, tons of room to expand so the money it's never a problem.

Well done... and it only took 4(?) years! dunno how many time, but indeed a lot of time xD.

[Fey]

On 2/2/2020 at 8:51 AM, Cm_blast said:

Alright; It took me some time to play the 30 missions, but now I finish.

This is a great campaign, or, should I said, the best version of the campaign (I already played the first half some time before); it was a hard map with tons of contents, new units and those unknown structures that were annoying to deal with but not in a boring way.

Also I like the new versions of the old maps, they didn't took me +2 hours to beat, but much less; maybe I optimized a bit the expansion areas deploying more bases and more factories than needed but still, the few touches on the design of the map, the way the AI behaves and so on makes this campaign much more enjoyable now.

It has tons of briefing to read, and I am so bad at names that half the time I don't remember which commander command which faction, but still, I could get at least the core point on the game, the enemies you face and the reasons here and there to fight.

This is indeed a well crafted campaign, with lots of works with the new artworks, new structures that add something new into the game withouth just turning the whole campaign in a mess, although It can be arguable how specific units change on the power vs certain buildings, I think it has some kind of balance, although now everythings it's more expensive, but anyway, tons of room to expand so the money it's never a problem.

Well done... and it only took 4(?) years! dunno how many time, but indeed a lot of time xD.

XD 4 years, not counting all of the random periods of absence and other IRL shenanigans. I guess the development time of the Heighliner tileset counts, huh?

Thanks for playing, Cm! I'm glad you liked the final result.

[sbruc065]

Hi!  I used to play Dune 2000 when I was a teenager and i have just found this and it is AWESOME!! BUT!!!  I cannot at all work out how to beat level 17V2!!! How do you capture the laser turrets at the beginning??  What buildings do you have to put up in order to build the rocket towers??  I simply get annhilhated in about 3 minutes every time I play this mission and I cannot work out what to do. HELP!!  and thanks so much for putting these missions together - they are GREAT!.

[Fey]

21 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

Hi!  I used to play Dune 2000 when I was a teenager and i have just found this and it is AWESOME!! BUT!!!  I cannot at all work out how to beat level 17V2!!! How do you capture the laser turrets at the beginning??  What buildings do you have to put up in order to build the rocket towers??  I simply get annhilhated in about 3 minutes every time I play this mission and I cannot work out what to do. HELP!!  and thanks so much for putting these missions together - they are GREAT!.

Hey there mate, I'm so glad you've been enjoying my campaign! Thank you so much!

It sounds like you're up to the toughest missions I've got. Well done!

Those megaturrets can't be captured - they're just there to, you know, be there for the intro. Here are some recommendations for S17V2:

Spoiler

When the power's out, capture both Construction Yards especially. With three Construction Yards to start, you max out your building production speed and can build your base up insanely fast! Which can help with reaching a critical mass of turrets.

Once the High Tech Factory is upgraded, you can place a Research Center. You'll need the Construction Yard upgraded as well to produce turrets. If you also build an Outpost, the captured High Tech Factory will begin to produce Ornithopters.

This map is macro-intensive due to all the enemy superweapons, so it's important to keep your economy high and your build speed maxed out. It's kind of a messy map! If you're having a lot of trouble in the early game, slowing the game speed down can help you issue a ton of commands to your units much faster - like, for instance, making sure all your Engineers get where they need to go as soon as possible. When you feel comfortable, you can bump it up again. And of course, saving often (in multiple slots, in case you gotta go back further) is always a good idea!

Here's how I set up some buildings in the early game:


More Refineries can go north of the captured enemy ConYards. There's also a good expansion location to the west, a rock island surrounded by Spice.

When you can build Rocket Turrets, they work WONDERS on cliffs where most enemy units can't return fire. Artillery units like Missile Tanks or Siege Tanks also fit quite well there:


Rocket Turrets around the front entrance can hit enemy infantry coming over the infantry-only. If you were to place them lower than I put them here, you could put some Siege Tanks behind them and then no infantry would be able to make it past those rocks:


Pumping out armored units like the heavy Combat Tanks to support the front entrance is also probably a good idea. Oh, uhh, and ignore the graphic for that Gun Turret on the right. I was experimenting with a new spriteset.

The enemy attacks actually don't consist of much armor, especially after the central base south of your starting area is taken out. The kicker is all the enemy superweapons, which makes turtling up inadvisable, at least for too long. But as long as you protect your own superweapons, keep expanding and attack aggressively, you'll pull out eventually! Your own airstrike and death hand could be combo'd on an enemy Palace, or you can use them to hit enemy units in front of factories, or just surgically strike those pesky Storm Lashers. You'll get constant reinforcements (at the very top of the map, around where your Stealth Raiders and Engineers were clumped up) after a little bit into the map (before the first enemy superweapons come at you), so as long as you survive until then, they should be able to help in your defense and your aggression over time.

One more thing: The enemy Sonic Tanks and RPG Quads become the most pressing threat to stationary defense forces due to their long range. Sonic Tanks simply can't fight in close range, so if you focus on Quad production (and build three Light Factories ASAP), you can swarm the enemy artillery units where they're most vulnerable. They're not suitable for frontal assault though, so you'll need some Combat Tanks to back them up when you go to hit the enemy at their home. You could also return fire with a volley of rockets from massed Missile Tanks, but of course, those units excel where they're out of harm's way and able to snipe enemy tanks with impunity.

The most important tips are at the beginning under that little spoiler, but I hope all of that helps. Good luck, Commander!

[sbruc065]

Deleted that last post haha! Took ages but I managed it!!  Was just a case of getting in the rocket turrets in the right places at the beginning.  I just couldn~t work out how to build them but as soon as you clarified it was just a case of upgrading the hi-tec factory it was all good!! Great mission!! Thanks again!!

Edited May 12, 2021 by sbruc065
Managed to complete the mission!

[Fey]

3 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

Deleted that last post haha! Took ages but I managed it!!  Was just a case of getting in the rocket turrets in the right places at the beginning.  I just couldn~t work out how to build them but as soon as you clarified it was just a case of upgrading the hi-tec factory it was all good!! Great mission!! Thanks again!!

Congratulations!! And thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[sbruc065]

Hi - I have played a good % of the campaigns on this site and, with absolutely all due respect to all of the people who have contributed to this site with missions, I just want to say that this campaign was, in my humble opinion, way out there as the best.  The level of difficulty was just right and the innovations and stories and twists during the missions were superb.  My full congratulations on this one!!  Can anyone recommend to me any other campaigns I could play that really stand out like this one did?

[Fey]

4 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

Hi

Hey there!!

I'm SO thrilled to hear such a compliment! Thank you so much! I really can't express how much that means to me! Thank you!!

😅I did have a revamp in mind for this campaign using some of the new features Klofkac's been working on, but that's a little ways away still. I hope you like what I come up with for that even better! When the revamp is finished, that is. And if you're curious... here's just a little list of some of the stuff:

Spoiler

 - Proper integration with Feda's new Mission Launcher. Intel entries and tactical map images, submods for expanding the possibilities, splash art for each mission, etc.
 - A complete sound overhaul, including a new mentat and lines for each individual unit, all fully edited with radio blips, reverb, related background sounds, and more.
 - Hero units. Powerful additions that allow for high risk, high reward plays as the player wants to use them for attack or defense, but must protect them at any cost!
 - Other new units. Autogun Tanks, Tyrant Tanks, Shotgunners, gauss rifle Troopers, different variants of Sardaukar and more give more identity to each faction.
 - Story inconsistencies fixed. All events are canon; the player is sometimes a different commander on missions other than bonus ones so everything plays out.
 - More consistent balancing using a number of new features, including longer delays on enemy superweapons only, crates for cash or bonus units, and more.

Here are some intel entries for S11:

Spoiler

A tactical map image, again for S11, showing the new smuggler emblem of an Arrakis sand mouse:

Spoiler

Splash art for S05, featuring a Harkonnen Flame Tank crushing smuggler militia in Gara Kulon:

Spoiler

Mercenary forces stealing a bunch of Light Combat Tanks on a Heighliner mission:

Spoiler

Some raw infantry and vehicle voiceovers by themselves. It doesn't seem the forum wants to play them, but they're here to download if you wanna have a listen.
Sardaukar compilation.wav
Logistics compilation.wav

It's mostly done; I'm just waiting for some more Mission Launcher integration and for the rest of the splash art to be finished. Klofkac is also doing some AMAZING bugfixing with his patching efforts, which is no doubt gonna enhance everything.

6 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

other campaigns

Feda's brilliant Mission Launcher advancements enable a whole bunch of incredible innovations, some of which have already been taken advantage of in new campaigns. Cm and Feda are both legendary mappers, but with very different styles. Regarding campaigns of theirs that are explicitly designed to take advantage of the new Mission Launcher, and therefore may present you with some new and interesting things to check out, here are a couple of recommendations:

Spoiler

Cm_blast's mapping style usually involves limiting the player somehow and using a variety of mapping tricks to toughen the enemy or incentivize the player towards certain strategies, some of which may even be mission objectives. Naturally, because of his style, his new Coalition of Nobles campaign is one of his best! In it, you play as a coalition of smaller Houses with limited, but specialized technology that band together to try to fight the bigger Houses, like the Atreides or Harkonnen, for Arrakis.

Not only do you get to battle in other theaters of war, like Caladan or Giedi Prime, but Cm goes out of his way to make you feel like you're playing a weaker, smaller House. Which makes it all the sweeter when you finally achieve victory, with the help of your allies! These maps are definitely more geared towards micro play, rather than macro.

Spoiler

Feda's War of Assassins and Sandstorm campaigns are followed up in this sequel, War of the Landsraad. Spanning a whopping fifty maps, it's a huge campaign, and Feda keeps with his style of huge all-out battles too. But, there are also some maps that are smaller, or more like puzzles, breaking up the action from time to time. Since Feda orchestrated the lastest breakthroughs in the Mission Launcher, it's only natural that he created the first campaign for use with that Mission Launcher.

Alternate theaters of war and various submods are a thing in this campaign too, but there are also some neat mapping tricks. Like static ships on Caladan maps that display a name when you mouse over them. The Autogun Turrets seen in that clip under the first spoiler make their first appearance in any campaign in this one, during the Sardaukar arc.

Hope that helps. I'm certain Cm or Feda would love to hear from you if you give either of those a try. Plans for sequels are already in the works, so any feedback provided could help them iron out good changes for the sequels that improve the gameplay and mapping overall!

[sbruc065]

I am anxiously awaiting the update on this one Fey!!  Have this forum bookmarked and keep checking in!!  Thanks!! Stephen

[Fey]

4 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

I am anxiously awaiting the update on this one Fey!!  Have this forum bookmarked and keep checking in!!  Thanks!! Stephen

Thank you very much!!

I have a slight update on the progress on this campaign's revamp so far. Twenty-one splash art images have been finished, all of the thinner ones for missions with two versions, so the only ones left are nine of the 512x512 ones for missions with one version. SBON1 already has its sketch done. Feda's also gotten some work done on the Mission Launcher integration! It's not gonna look exactly this way, this is just a concept image for the sake of programming the layout in the Mission Launcher, but here's that layout concept (with both splash images for level 1):

Spoiler

Turns out the framework for the Mission Launcher is really old. We've already discovered that Feda can't make the text centered! But that's okay, we expected some bumps in the road. So maybe graying out an image doesn't work, and due to how the text boxes have to be set up the sides of the image have already received extensions, as you can see in the second screenie under the spoiler. We'll keep figuring it out, but, ya know, it'll still be a few on account of the remaining images that need finishing.

Something finished RIGHT NOW though is, I did a little work on the original d2k campaigns and made them function with my mod. I didn't, like, change the AI or terrain, or add any special new tech structures or anything, so there's more stuff that just doesn't appear in the original three campaigns. But, still playable, and still a lot of new stuff!

I linked the modified maps in this thread here:

So if ya check that one out, then I hope you have fun!

[sbruc065]

I worked this out! Had a glitch - storm lashers were in fact Atreides Hi-tec and looked like Starports!

Edited September 19, 2021 by sbruc065
No longer need help

[sbruc065]

The new launcher also looks awesome and look forward to seeing the completed work!

[Fey]

2 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

Thank you!! I really appreciate you replying to me here, many many thanks!

I really appreciate your comments! So, thank you! 😃 It makes me so happy that you've enjoyed my work!!

3 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

I have just replayed the Smugglers campaign and mission 18.  From the beginning of the mission the Storm Lashers were showing as kind of "glitchy" looking Starports.

I figured out though that when I captured the last contruction yard I would be able to still build them but unfortunately I can't....It does't give me the option although when I build a new Starport it gave me the option to build an Atreides Hi-tec factory!

Is there a specific file I should make sure I copy to fix the problem?  I have the mission saved just before capturing the construction yard.

Thanks for any help!

Oh golly, that sounds like a matter with the mod itself!

This mod is NOT built to work with Feda's new mission launcher yet. The revamp will take care of that, and a bunch of other things. But, in this incarnation, it replaces the original game's files. So, I'd recommend replacing the files under the data folder, and under data > bin. The data.r16 file under data governs graphics, while the stuff under data > bin involves the mod itself.

The reason Starport images would be popping up on a Storm Lasher has to do with animation misalignment. Which is strange, since the SLasher doesn't have animations in this version... but, I suppose that proves something is the matter with the mod files So, simply replacing them should fix it. I'm not sure if that will preserve the saved game, but here's hoping!

If I remember correctly, you'll need to upgrade your Research Center after the ConYard is captured to trigger SLasher availability. That's the only time in the campaign the Research Center is upgraded, just for that moment on S18.

As a side note, the SLasher has new animations and stuff done for the revamp. Here's a peek:

Spoiler

Also seen above are Shotgunner infantry.

4 hours ago, sbruc065 said:

The new launcher also looks awesome and look forward to seeing the completed work!

I too am quite excited. Feda's amazing new launcher has already enabled leaps and bounds, and Klofkac's developments with the editor are just as powerful!