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CNC Generals: The USA - Mid / Late Game
Now that your initial base is established it is time to
start focusing on controlling the map and hurting your enemy. After your first
expansion is well defended its time to start securing at least one more supply
dock depending on the map. Remember that one of USA's weaknesses is expensive
units but if you have 3 supply docks or 2 supply docks and some oil you don't
really need to worry about unit price. The best supply docks to secure are the
ones closest to the enemy and if you can actually remove your enemy from their
expansion point and secure it for your self. This takes away their income and
increases yours. Most people only put one defensive structure near their
expansion and if they don't have any units there all you need are a few tanks to
take him out. Make sure you have a dozer though to help secure it with a
barracks or defense of your own.
While your continuing to expand it is important that you keep
making vehicles and continue your base development. With your scouting abilities
see if you can find weaknesses to his base and expansions and make sure you
always keep an eye on his tanks and other potential threats.
There are two basic strategies you can use when you begin
your attack. You can do big attacks by amassing a large amount of units (do not
forget to mix unit types) or you can do hit and run attacks with smaller faster
groups of units. Most of the good players you play will usually do a mix of both
by constantly doing small attacks while amassing a large army.
When I do my small attacks they mostly include humvee's and
aircraft . Depending on what the enemy has I usually make a couple of humvee's
with rocket guys (and a ranger or two with flash bangs) to hit his expansions
our get into the back of his base to take out key structures like airfields. If
he has a good defense network you may not be able to with just humvee's so add a
few tanks. That's what your scouting is for. If you do get to the back of his
base he will probably move to intercept so do not stay long. Even if you don't
kill anything he will be forced to keep defense in his base or you can just keep
doing it.
When you make big attacks at this stage of the game your most
important tool is tomahawks. Long range weapons are critical in any mixed force
especially if you want to take down defense with minimum casualties. The force
that I usually go with consists of crusaders and/or paladins backed by tomahawks
with missile defenders mixed in. Of course you need to add or change unit types
and the amount of certain units depending on your enemy. Then I hotkey my force
according to damage and unit type. Remember that a mixed force is always better
than a large group of one unit type.
The USA Air force
When supporting any attack with your aircraft remember that
your most versatile aircraft are Comanche's. With planes you can only fire once
at a target and then you have to go back and reload. Not only that but all of
your planes are tied to your airfield so if the airfield dies your planes die.
Planes are very useful at times but I would never make more than one airfield of
them. If you do make planes do not leave them sitting in the hanger. Always have
them patrolling around your base. Planes are of no use in the hanger and when
they are in there they die easier and you cant get them to targets if you need
to kill something fast.
Comanche's on the other hand can stay in the battle
constantly doing damage until everyone is dead or you want them to stop. In a
large tank battle where you have Comanche's but cant use them because of
anti-air units have your tanks target them first. You may lose a few more tanks
but if you can get your Comanche's in a battle it will almost certainly put you
at the advantage.
Col. Burton
Col. Burton is a valuable asset to your army. The best thing
about him is that there is always a way to get into an enemy base. Most bases
you can simply slip him by the normal holes in his defense. If he has defense at
every entrance find another way in over cliffs. If it is still impossible to
walk/climb him in without being detected you can always put him in a Chinook and
fly through to the back of his base. Make sure you put a ranger or something
else in the Chinook too. Otherwise your enemy will see a Chinook land and
nothing will come out which would make them suspicious of stealth units. If one
ranger comes out too and they kill it they will most likely believe the threat
is eliminated allowing you to do your work.
When you do get Burton into their base don't forget your
mini-gun. Burton can take out a barracks, power plant, airfield or a GLA hole
easily with just his gun. Not only that but almost every light armored vehicle
dies easily from his gun as well as many tanks one on one. Use your c4 when he
has no detectors around because it is more stealthy. The knife attack is very
useful also for taking out hackers, workers and other groups of infantry. If you
don't need to worry about being stealthy don't be afraid to whip out your gun.
Also remember that if Burton dies the remote charges go away but timed charges
will still go off.
The Strategy Center
Your strategy center is very important. This structure allows
you to enhance the effectiveness of your units as well as allowing you to build
tomahawks and Burton. When you first put the center up do not pick a strategy
right away. If you do your enemy will know you have one and they can prepare for
your high tech units. Only pick the strategy when you need it. This way you can
choose which one you will need depending on if your getting attacked or your
attacking. Plus you can get Burton and attack with him without them knowing that
you have a strategy center yet.
When you do decide to put a strategy into action I would
suggest either bombardment or seek and destroy. Hold the line only increases
your defense by 10% which is not worth it. It doesn't increase your hit points
it just reduces the damage done to you. So a tank shell with a damage of 60
would only do 54 which is not that much of a help. Personally, I use seek and
destroy much more often than bombardment. Seek and destroy increases the range
of all your units which is a big advantage when it comes to tomahawks and
missile defenders. With the extra range on the tomahawk you can take out any
other long range platform before they can take out you. This completely
eliminates the threat of nuke cannons, scuds and buggies as long as you have
tomahawks around.
I only use bombardment if I do not have tomahawks and just
have a large number of tanks or when I need the cannon for defense. The
bombardment cannon is a great way to defend against Black Lotus. With its
extreme range you can protect a lot of buildings with just the strategy center.
Make sure you have some stealth detection around the strategy center itself
though because Louts can get right next to the gun and capture it. So simply put
a humvee with scout drone or a spy drone by it and you can easily eliminate a
Lotus threat.
The Detention Center
The detention center is inexpensive and it adds the best
scouting tool you can get. In the late game you can easily get more than one but
since you already have spy drones and a satellite all you really need is two at
the max. By activating your detention center you will be able to see every enemy
unit on the map including stealth units. This is obviously a big advantage
especially for taking out stealth units like bomb trucks and hero units.
The Particle Cannon
The Particle Cannon, in my opinion, is the best super weapon
in the game. The particle cannon only has a four minute countdown timer and it
is the most versatile super weapon in the game. Since the damage is so precise
and you can aim it very accurately you can use it in any situation. The best
example of this is when you are getting heavily attacked in or around your base.
You would never fire a nuke or a scud storm at the enemy tanks if they were in
your base. With the particle cannon though you can weave that beam right between
your own buildings and tanks while ripping through the enemy with pin-point
precision.
That pretty much sums up the most important things to
consider when you are playing as the USA. If you have any questions or comments
feel free to discuss them in our forums or you can e-mail me at
overkill@cnccz.com
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