General Tactics for TA Newbies

Discussion in 'Planetary Annihilation General Discussion' started by deathjesteruk, June 6, 2013.

  1. deathjesteruk

    deathjesteruk New Member

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    So, many of us here on this forum are fans and veterans of the original TA games. And I know a lot of you are in fact new to the series and I think it would be a great idea for us to share a little bit of our knowledge before hand, so that you dont get ganked too hard. :D

    So, with that in mind, I will share a few bits of information and tactics that I have learned and hopefully, other TA vets will share theirs.

    Construction

    You will be doing a lot of this of course, but there are a few nuances that you should be aware of. The first and most important of these is that, nearly everything that you build will use more power, than metal. Building a lot of power plants fairly early on, will help you to avoid a lot of stalling later on in the game.

    Tiers

    The game is separated up into tiers. Each tier unlocks more techs, more advanced units/buildings etc, etc. To get to these tiers, you need to build a constructor, this will let you build items your commander initially cannot. Then, place down a tier 2 building and build another constructer, that should allow you the tier 2 buildings and units. Im not sure how many tiers are in the game at the moment.


    Okay, thats all I can think of for now without getting my hands dirty on the game. If any of you have some good tips and tactics for the newbies or vets a like...post them here.

    IE: How to defeat/counter early/mid/late rushes. (I would like to know. :p)
  2. neutrino

    neutrino low mass particle Uber Employee

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    Also, don't die.
  3. spaidio

    spaidio New Member

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    Yeah if you don't die you're gonna do fine :mrgreen:

    But try to play against AI in late alpha or Beta. You will develop your own fighting/building style :)
  4. northbehemoth

    northbehemoth New Member

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    For the original TA, it was solar collectors x5, metal extractors (as many metal patches you had) then metal makers to make the difference. (converted energy to metal I think it was like +1 metal for -60 energy) Then the never fail wall of guardians and defenders while you mass an army. Also pending on how much tech they had 2 protectors (stomped nukes) Followed by a small cluster of hawks/vamps too stop rapiers/brawlers. And you were set to wall your self in while you built fusion reactors and what ever else you wanted really. (keeping in mind this was before all of the add ons and expansions which I think made the core more over powered)

    For any RTS, if you are using turrets always try to put them at a choke point if you can instead of just in the wide open. (your odds are better if you funnel your opponent so you never have to engage a massive army head on) But I guess this is more of a "where should I set up my base"

    From what I have seen in people playing PA, ignoring the tanks that can swim. Land units have to go around fissures and canyons. Which means turrets at the end or opening point of these would greatly increase their effectiveness. Also it looks like some of the turrets out range early ground units, which means you could maybe pick them off as they travel around land obstacles? All speculations for PA, but this is just general RTS things. Maybe this will help some people hopefully! Be as sneaky as possible, and have radar everywhere! With vision comes power! :p
  5. ledarsi

    ledarsi Post Master General

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    I have also discovered how to fly.

    Simply throw yourself at the ground, and miss.

    Basically the most important things for new players to understand about TA style games is that it is a delicate balancing act between economy and military. If you lose because your opponent just has SO MUCH STUFF, then you should make more economy, more quickly. This is the most common way for new players to lose. And if you lose because your opponent made a bunch of military and you didn't, you need to spend more on units and less on economy or special weapons.

    The two most common losing strategies new players make are, in this order, first making too many defenses instead of economy or attacking units. This will deprive you of map control, allowing the enemy to expand everywhere, and then build anything he wants to crush you. The second major new player mistake, once they understand the way the economy works, is to build too much economy, and die to cheesy strategies and all-ins. You need to balance your economy, intelligence, offensive units, and defenses in order to play safely and macro effectively.
  6. deathjesteruk

    deathjesteruk New Member

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    That....that one is kinda obvious.
  7. carryableyarn

    carryableyarn Active Member

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    Heh.
    Wait.
    Are you telling me that dying will be as influential as in SMNC?
  8. kmike13

    kmike13 Member

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    Meh, i find this optional sometimes.
  9. infuscoletum

    infuscoletum Active Member

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    After watching some alpha footage, what's up with the extractor placement? is it just anywhere at this point? Are specific points for them not implemented yet?

    Other than that, ya, power plants galore!
  10. Flamester

    Flamester New Member

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    Don't forget about early harassment with fleas/jeffys.
  11. kmike13

    kmike13 Member

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    Also, OP, what does "Ganked" have to do with losing in planetary annihilation?
  12. thepastmaster

    thepastmaster Active Member

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    This SEEMS obvious but I'm gonna chuck it out there. Got chickenpox ATM so I don't know if this is more "HOWDY ho my good man!" or "Pink bunnies eating the robotic flesh in the darkness of the moon" or just... "skj<dfggl<kksgl<"

    Anyway: When going up to base defences use artillery because point defences designed to EAT a battle detachment. Bombers are optional but beware AA and fighter jets.
  13. Spinewire

    Spinewire Member

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    People say "ganked" when what they actually mean is just "killed"...
  14. blobbit

    blobbit New Member

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    What I would suggest for new players that when practising after knowing the basics, don't play against AI. Play against other players. Losing, in fact, is more effective way of learning than winning.
  15. Ralith

    Ralith Member

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    Mex spots are not yet implemented.

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