What's Everyone's Opening Build? (again)

I've had one of these threads before, but it's been a while, so strategies change. Figured it'd be good discussion to bring up again, especially with the influx of new players.

Seems that most everyone goes for metal, energy, 2 metal, bot factory. But what happens afterwards varies a lot.

I'm constantly fiddling with my build, and it does change situationally. I like to go for energy with my commander, and 3 bot fabbers. First one goes for metal, second assists commander with energy, and third assists the first. Once energy gets on track, I get the second fabber to stop assisting the Commander and work on an air factory and then, depending on the size of the map, either bot factories or vehicle factories.

After my first three fab bots, I normally go for 5 doxes, 5 fabbers, 10 doxes, 5 fabbers, bunch of doxes.

From there, the additional fabbers start spreading out grabbing metal and building factories.

What's your opening build?

mex, power, mex, bot fac

But really it should be straight to fac. Not what you asked about I know, but really you should start with enough mass to build a fac and a fab and the com should produce enough energy so you don't need to build power before the fac.

Build orders after that would be meaningless because the choice of strat would then take over.

How do you not stall out with only 2 metal?

For 1v1s:

Mex, Energy, Mex, Mex, Bot Fac

Bot Fac queued to build fabs for rest of game
Comm queued to build 10-15 energy
First and second fabs explore for Mex
Third fab builds Veh Fac or Air Fac or Nav Fac (V/A/N) depending on the map
V/A/N Fac spams military units
If V/N built in step 4, fourth fab builds Air Fac for scouts and fighters

After that it's hard to list specifics as it changes depending on the map.

Depending on the start position, but it's usually 2mex, 2power, botfactory, and then 2fabbers and 2dox, and then fabbers, while the commander starts going for lots of power to keep up with al the fabbers i build, and the fabbers go out to build more mexes/AA.

Also, does anyone know, will there be an option to turn off pre-exploration of planets, or at least to hide the metal spots until a unit discovers them?

so why not necro it? what would have been the harm?

To be fair, the end result would have been the same. Linking to 'old' build orders would be interesting though.

I would like this, too.

It's still MEX, energy, MEX, MEX, bot factory. I tend to go air as my second factory for scouting, but when that second factory goes up varies from game to game. Generally I want four or five factories by six minutes.

Still haven't decided on whether I want my commander dedicated to energy (capped off with a storage), or if he could put down only a few energy and then build the second factory himself.

If not, this will likely be available as a mod. I'd really like to include that in our planned mod pack, actually.

Not a bad idea. This never worked in games with traditional maps, because it really favored the players that could memorize important locations. With random maps, this could be a lot of fun.

i start with metal 2-3, then bot, then i air after a little while, i am still honing my skills,

Throw an energy storage up before that first factory... you'd be surprised how useful that is. My second factory usually goes vehicle since it has a scout. I stray from air due to their expense and inefficiency. I actually only build air just to maintain air superiority over my main base. Air probably is My fifth or sixth factory. I like to begin early raids slowing people down, so those that go air first usually suffer greatly after I smash their initial power or mex with ten or so dox

Energy storage is the first thing I build, because of the +100 E the time when Comm works alone. Seems effective to me.

You know I juggle this to with my comm, seems to be best to commit him to power when there's more space between you and opponents. If I'm close and I know it I go straight rush with very few fabs.... like five max, and my comm walks across the land dispensing factories, energy and mex along the way. Seems silly but usually, " usually" quite effective in a 1v1

You'd be surprised how much it hurts you to delay that factory.

I've played around with placing additional economy buildings before the first factory to prevent stalls. I played against someone who did metal, energy, 2 metal factory while I did metal, energy, 3 metal, 1 energy, factory. I didn't stall, but he still expanded faster than I did allowing him to get ahead of me.

Build power is a resource in of itself.

If you wait that long for Air, how do you scout? Skitters? Doxes?

Postponing air means less intel and longer opponent spawn discovery.

I always put out early doxes and raid, but with that one air factory I find out where my opponent is faster, and I can also set up patrols inbetween our bases allowing me to see incoming raids.

If there was a scout bot, then I'd experiment with delaying air to be a factory or two later.

I believe it was a game against you that taught me such a tactic, both storage and rush. I watched the replay after you steamed me ..XD

@brianpurkiss I must disagree energy storage first may put that first factory behind but hurt you it does not. With your strategy I would say it would but you go mostly fab from the beginning. I pump attack units with my first factory and start scouring the land. You should try it before you knock it then you wouldn't need to pointlessly put a fab to assist your comm

Skitter works fine to find your closest initial threat... most games I find all players with them. I use air scouts about five minutes or later. Like I said once I find you I put pressure, so you and your fifteen fabs would be screwed as I wreck them and all they created allowing me to expand and you to start over. Expansion is nothing without protection....



Also what exactly are you going to achieve seeing your enemy thirty seconds in with no units??? Or your opponent for that matter??? At that point you probably both have the same amount of units/ buildings on the field with no clear image as to which direction your opponent is going. My ground scout may take a bit longer but I usually can see your intentions at this point and am free to answer with my formidable early game attack force

I can only dream of a scout bot!!!! Then I would never build vehicles!!!! I love the bot speed, agility, and lower sticker price!!! Say what you will about them vs ants but come play me and watch my weaker bots micro right up the backside of your much larger ant blob!!!