Core Commander Basic Training

Core Tactics

The Core Army continues to rampage through sector after sector of the galaxy. Do you have what it takes to be a champion of Core? Fall in for basic training if you've grown weary of your fleshy body.

Core Tactical Doctrine

Yes, it is true -- the Arm has excellent raiding prowess, due mainly to the Flash tank, with its reckless and unpredictable EMG weapon. However, as Core, we have no need to run around scurrying like vermin. We will build our Armies and control our territory, we will show the Arm that our Commanders possess a raiding prowess of our own.

Make no mistake, our advanced technology is the final word on any battlefield, and we can walk through any resistance with little effort. However, do not discount the resolve of our veteran patterns -- if the Arm makes only one error early on, moments later we will be marching through their base searching for the enemy Commander.

Surviving the First 10 Minutes

To win consistently as a Core Commander, you must respect Arm's raiding prowess and its ability to pin you down with the powerful Flash tank, backed up with Samsons. We respect Arm's raiding prowess by:

1) Building as many Slashers as possible, backed up by radar, to control our territory and protect out metal economy early on. The faster you think of the Slasher as a mobile Missile Tower, the better off you'll be at defending your early expansion.

2) Using careful resource raiding parties of your own. The Weasel is an excellent Metal Extractor-hunter. Doing regular passes against metal patches close to the enemy base and destroying metal extractors has two advantages -- not only do you slow down the enemy's economy, but you've also forced him to defend his metal extractors with units that are no longer adventuring through your territory. The Weasel is cheap and fast to build, so it's not disruptive to your Slasher production if you occasionally turn one out.

3) Using the D-gun with discretion on Arm raiders. If you have the defenses to take out that pesky incoming Flash tank column before it can do any serious damage, spare the D-gun. Why? The D-gun will leave no wreckage, but conventional weapons will. Reclaim the wreckage to start a new project or to crank out a few units quickly using assisted construction.

As Core, we DO NOT:

1) Attempt to raid as the Arm can. Although the Instigator does pack a good punch, its laser is underpowered when compared to the might of the Flash tank. The Flash is faster, cheaper, quicker to produce and packs more firepower then the Core Instigator. Attempting to raid with the Instigator is often a lethal waste of time against a competent Arm Commander. More Flashes will get to their raiding areas faster and kill targets quicker than Insitgators attempting the same strategy.

2) Rush to Level 2 technology until we have enough units to prevent the Arm from killing our fledgling base with one blow. If there is a sudden lull in combat after you've successfully fended off some raiders, it's not time to advance in technology -- it's time to stockpile units and scout Arm positions. More often than not, the Arm Commander will be stockpiling for a large push as well. Getting caught with insufficient defenses because a transtion to level 2 technology began too early is a leading cause of Commander destruction.

The Core Economy

Many Commanders are under the impression that Arm has the superior economic capabilities. For the expert Commander, nothing could be further from the truth.

Once the Core Moho Metal Maker became available, Core gained a serious advantage in produtcion capabilties. The Core Moho Metal maker drains 600 power, compared to Arm's 800 drain. What does this mean? For the Core Commander with exceptional resource management and the knowledge on how to defend himself, they will easily have the first Moho Metal Maker up and running before Arm does. This allows Core to quickly get up a Fusion, which can power almost two more.

My favorite example is this is Greenhaven. This is a thermal-rich map, and it is easy to get two Geothermals built quickly. Add five Solars to this and you have the power to run a Moho Metal Maker.

What does Arm need? Two Geothermals and 15 Solars.

As a Core Commander, you should be able to easily have your Moho Metal Maker up and running a good five to six minutes faster than an Arm Commander of the same skill level. From there, you can be building more Solars and Geothermals for your unit production while assisting a Fusion Plant at the same time. You should be able to have a Fusion plant up and running eight to nine minutes faster than your Arm counterpart, all the while taking advantage of the extra metal provided by the Moho Metal Maker.

Things to Remember That Give Core's Economy the Upper Hand

The fastest way to get the power for a Moho Metal Maker is not necessarily a Fusion. A combination of wind, Solar and geothermal power stations can easily get you up to 600 power.

As you build up to this 600 power, adding regular metal makers will bolster your Metal Extractor economy. A single construction unit guarded by an airborne construction unit can put up nine Solars pretty quickly. Every three Solars can power a Metal Maker. Imagine if you have two teams each building a set of nine Solars and three Metal Makers? In six to seven minutes, you have 360 power and six extra metal coming in.

Reclaim all Enemies

Arm must be on the offensive to contain your expansion and prevent you from achieving tech level 2 on equal footing. Unfortunately, this means they have lots of units out to get your early economy, and you must know how to defend yourself. Fortunately, these raiders will be dying very close to your base; reclaiming them will go a long way in bolstering your economy.

One More, Then It's On to TA: Kingdoms

With TA: Kingdoms at some stores now, I plan on doing one more column for TA. Maybe somthing a little special is in order. After all, this is the only game to survive on my hard drive for a constant 1.5 years.

Take care all,

-- Orion

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