Utilizing the Tech III mobile artillery effectively
Too few people know how to use the Tech III mobile artillery effectively. The Tech III artillery is a destructive powerhouse, capable of inflicting the majority of damage to enemy bases, with other units needed only as escorts. Yet I still see so many people just sending wave after wave of close-combat units into the grinder when artillery would be so much more effective.
My typical attacking army consists of Tech III siege bots, Tech III mobile artillery, and Tech II mobile flak AA in a 3:1:1 to 2:1:1 ratio. The siege bots are really only there as escorts; it’s the mobile artillery that does the real damage. The use of formations is essential here. This will put the siege bots up front as a protective buffer, with the AA and artillery in the rear.
The mobile artillery has a range that is significantly longer than Tech II point defense, so you can have even a large formation with your artillery in the back and your siege bots up front won’t be in range of the enemy defenses. Mobile artillery has to be stationary to fire, so it won’t be useful in run-and-gun armies. It takes the mobile artillery about five seconds to deploy upon becoming stationary; to speed this up, select the artillery and manually pick a first target for it; it will deploy immediately, thus saving time.
Tech III artillery is incredibly damaging. It will kill Tech I units in a single hit and rapidly level buildings. A single volley from ten mobile artillery is enough to take out almost any defensive cluster of buildings, and can quickly clear away walls as necessary. The artillery is also extreme effective at taking out enemy armies. I’ve taken out the majority of the enemy’s units before they even come into range of my troops, at which point my siege bots just mop them up. When fighting another army with your army, it is imperative that you stop well short of the enemy army so your artillery has enough time to deploy and fire immediately upon enemy troops as they come into range.
Mobile artillery works very well in online play. Ten of them will quickly overwhelm any shield, and human players typically build lots of point defense, which is good against classic rushing attacks, but ineffective against artillery barrages. It is a more nuanced and micro-strategic tactic, to be sure, but it is usually more effective.
It takes a multi-pronged defensive strategy to defend against mobile artillery. Shields are useful to protect your defenses for those extra few volleys. Tech III gunships and strategic bombers are great at taking out enemy artillery. And don’t forget the Tech II artillery installation, which has a range that easily eclipses the mobile artillery. If you see an enemy army setting up in range of your base ready to start taking shots, it’s probably too late. You need good radar coverage and you need to identify and eliminate these threats before they ever reach your base.
Update: This advice doesn’t apply to the Aeon Illuminate, whose Tech III artillery can fire while on the go.
Also, using Tech III artillery is basically like enabling easy mode when playing against the AI in skirmishes or the later campaign missions. The AI doesn’t really have any effective way of defending against it. I’ve leveled many an AI’s base with barrage after barrage; after every building within range is destroyed, just advance your column a bit, re-deploy your artillery, and clear out another section of land.
