FAQ:going over some beginner questions i was asked, please note that we are talking about 1v1 here:
when should i upgrade to tech 2 mex?
t2 mex need 3:45 minutes until the are rentable, so basicly when you are sure that you will not lose within the next 4 minutes, in most cases you won't upgrade extractors before minute 10
check out the "Economy 101" in the tuturial tab of the FAF-client
how many engineers should i get to speed up my factory?
at t1 none i think (maybe one or two if the would idle otherwise), on t2 and t3 it depends from the mass you have, it's not uncommon to have like 10 assisting a t2 fab or 20+ assisting a t3 fab
t1 engine have the hight buildrate/permass
so always use t1 engines to assist your fabrics
as soon as i can get t2 engineers i kill off my t1
bad idea
normally players get only 1 or two t2 engines to be able to build t2 buildings but support them with at least 5 t1 engines, you should never destroy your units, only if you REALLY, really, really need the mass
i've been doing it the over way around then, getting as many t2 and t3 as i can
always mix t2 units with t1, pure t2 is weaker, you need the t1 as, let's say cannonfood
i would say on most maps at least 6 t1 factories for the beginning + one t2 (that you may upgrade to t3 at some point)
when should i get 4, 5, 6 and 7?
after you build the initial 2 or 3 with your commander, just take one or two of your engines and plan a bunch of fabs to be build, dont forget to start building units in it as soon they are ready
you might need more fabs on some maps, just build as many as your mass allows, dont upgrade mexes to get you mass off build more fabs
the first online game i played, i upgraded my acu, to have a shield, it lost me the game, so when should i upgrade my acu?
there are multiple upgrades for acu, for different parts of the game: gun upgrade and t2 upgrade are good in early game , however it costs much energy and you should make sure to have at least + 200 to do it, shield needs way more you should not do it without assist of your team or a tec2 pgen
in gerneral: if you look at the energy needed and the energy you have you normally get a good impression of when you should upgrade what
should i make say heavy tank armies or should i get some mobile artillery aswell and other tanks?
build about 1 arty per 4 tanks, and dont build t1 bots (light assault bots = LAB) after the initial raiding, they shouldn't be in you later armies as they have to low health points
im also a big fan of air units
but i find i need t3 to start doing some real damage and to get air dominance
so should i jsut build up interceptors then upgrade to t3 slowly?
you guessed it, build ints and go slowly towards t3
t1 bomber are also very good even if the enemy has air defence, as they are rentable even if they only kill two tanks
if you play Cybran, Jesters do well im damaging enemy commander and destroying extractors all over the map
is it important to priorities one type of unit (Ie air over land) or should you build air and land evenly?
in 1v1 you will always have to focus on land and see air more like "support"
say i was on setons and i was at the back, should i worry about navy and land or just provide air support?
you dont have to care about anything else, get air dominance and everybody is happy
how do you get that many engeneers in late game?
just having 1 or 2 factories spamming them all over the time
im watching this video on youtube about voodoo and in one of his factories he produce 115 engines, is that a good thing to do?
in later game yes maybe, early not
also you shouldn't try to instantly learn from real 1v1 of voodoo as you will just get overhelmed, but thats just a personal impression
i exaplain beginner buildorders in my replays
i get draws for won games!
1. leave over the score screen
2. wait a few seconds before leaving,
if you want to 100% sure leave the game not before the otherone had left (ok that does no work if everyone is doing it)
If you want other things beeing explained just send me a PM or post here in this thread