Even More Posts

[davo]

While Mahdi is recovering from all that drinking :P, here's the latest gaggle of Westwood moderator posts on the official forums:

Devinoch on Ixian Infiltrators:

"What, you mean the Ix Infiltrator? It travels cloaked to a specific point, decloaks and charges a few seconds, then explodes. They can be nasty if you position them right."

"Actually, the infiltrators aren't that expensive -- 500 I think. But there's that two-to-three second time from when they decloak to when they blow up where they can be easily destroyed. And it's more of an area explosion with splash damage, I believe." - LINK

Devinoch on if there is going be any special tournament events for Emperor, like for RA 2:

"Delphi and I are working out details now (cut me some slack, guys! I haven't been here THAT long ... ) But you can expect something along those lines a few weeks after the game ships." - LINK

Chris on rushing and tactics:

"EdricO is right. Superior numbers will always be an advantage.

In Emperor, you will be far more effective by using the 'right tool for the job'. Did I ever tell you how I destroyed a rush of 20 Sardakar soliders with a single unit?"

" To Argo et al, yes the 3D terrain is meaningfull to battle. Their are 3 height levels in the terrain, and most units get bonuses for being a level (or two) higher than their opponents. I particularly like to line the ridges near choke points with snipers & Minotaruses. The extra range keeps the scouts out of my base, which means more time to charge up my superweapon!!!

There are some really cool choke points, made from ridge line & mesas, as well as infantry rock & dust basins. As a Ordos player (currently), I especially like the maps with lots of dust basins. Most of my units go right over them, but they create nasty choke points for my enemies.. Muuuhahahaha.

Also, choosing the right place to defend is crucial. With lots of great infantry to play with, everyone needs to learn how to use infantry rock effectively. You get a hefty armor bonus, and a damge modifier for any infantry stationed in infantry rock. Its kinda like garrison'ing units in RA2.

Also, Line of sight rules can be used to your advantage. Some weapons are true projectile weapons, and are lobbed through the air. If the positioning is right, you can hide behind rock formations, or sneak under ridgelines with a little bit of impunity.

Some maps also have some special features, which can be exploited cleverly...

p.s. My anti-Sardaukar rush unit was not any of the ones listed yet. " - LINK

Devinoch's favourite unit:

"My personal favorite so far are probably the Guild NIAB tanks"

"NIAB tanks are good to port in, destroy one or two buildings, then port back out before your opponent has time to run forces over there. Hit and run tactics. It uses electrical charges as an attack." - LINK

Devinoch on rushing:

"The key, Devlin, is not only to have a lot of units, but to have a good mix of them. If you bring a ton of infantry up against some Harkonen flame tanks, well, the winner is obvious. But if you have some Minotaurs or Kobras picking off the flame tanks first, a ton of infantry can do a lot of damage. Sure, a bucket of units beats anyone who's got only 2-3 guards, but you'll need to have a solid squad attacking, otherwise you may not make it through the front door. (And believe me, I've had some well-defended doors with plenty of battle-scarred land before it. Mmmmmm.)"

"SWiscool, if you take a ton of infantry and rush me, you'll generally find a machine gun turret ready to mow through your infantry like a hot knife through butter. We just played a game here and when Delphi ran some Elite Sardukar at me, he lost seven of them to a single machine gun turret. Like I said, everything in its right place.

And games are a little more slow paced than RA2, yes." - LINK