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We were long overdue for a replacement for Command and Conquer after EA let loose its stranglehold on the franchise, butTempest Risingis by far the best one we have that’s out now. It hits all those familiar beats of the classics, whilst also throwing in some new things to keep the game interesting.
It certainly doesn’t ease you into things, and it can be a bit of a trial by fire to stop your base from being overrun. Or your units from being torn to shreds in seconds. So to help you hit the ground running and take the fight to the Tempest Dynasty, or the GDF, here’s some helpful beginner tips for Tempest Rising.
PvP Is A Different Beast
The Online Community Doesn’t Mess Around
You can sink a ton of time into the Campaign or Skirmish modes, and they’ll do a good job of training you. But nothing will compare to the online community and thePvP multiplayermode. It’s a whole other ball game.
The best tip we can give you is to learn to get faster. Speed counts, especially in the start of a round. So having hot keys bound and constantly checking your defences is a must. The maps are fairly tight, the factions require a lot of micromanagement, and rounds are rush based. So think fast, build faster.
Don’t Abandon Tempest Fields
They Always Come Back
It may not seem like it, but you burn through credits pretty fast. Especially if you’re being pushed into a corner by an aggressive AI or player. So your Tempest fields will run dry pretty quickly. However, don’t completely abandon them for greener pastures as that’s a massive mistake.
Tempest fields will regrow over time once they’re completely harvested. They grow in three phases, the first activates after one minute, the second after four minutes, and the third after around six minutes. But they can be harvested for increasing amounts in each phase. So keep an eye on those crops, they’re not as barren as you think.
Worth noting is that Tempest Fields can only be harvested when there’s a large Tempest Pod or a Crevice sitting within the crop.
Build A Turret Backlog
How To Create An Instant Problem Solver
Turrets are your best friend in Tempest Rising. Both Factions have their big problem solvers, but regardless of what you choose it’s always worth having a wall of them, with a few set aside ready to go. To achieve this, you should always have a turret of some type constructed and ready to place.
If you’re playing as the GDF, you’ll be able to build and place down multiple turrets one after the other. So it’s good for building up a quick defense. Ideally, have something that you can place in a pinch in moments where your defenses are being overwhelmed, or shoring up a weak spot you may have noticed.
Turrets can also be used aggressively. For example, pop down a beacon as the GDF, then start building turrets around it. The guns apply their own build space, so you can slowly creep your walls outward.
Overdrive Power Plants For A Short Boost
Hit The Big Red Button For A Little Bit
Here’s a handy tip if you want to hit the ground running fast as the Tempest Dynasty. Take advantage of their Overdrive ability for their Power Plants. Not only will it spike your power for a while, but it also boosts nearby buildings' productivity. To do this just hit their Distribution Mode button.
So you’re able to combine this with a Machine Shop to quickly churn out Harvesters, or a big army of tanks or other vehicles. Doing this does deal damage to the affected buildings, but you can just repair through it. Or use a Doctrine that reduces the damage that’s inflicted.
The boost effect stacks twice, so pair up buildings with at least two Power Plants each.
Don’t Overlook Doctrines
Big Battle Upgrades
Speaking of Doctrines, in Singleplayer these are absolutely vital to getting through some of the harder missions. In multiplayer they’re just as useful. Here you may buy them with credits, though they do come with a cooldown and both cost and cooldown increases as you go up the unlock tree.
But they’re a great way to boost your army, or improve your start. For example, the Tempest Dynasties Planned Economics Doctrine gives you a passive income for every Plan you have. So you can gain extra cash quickly. There’s also Intel boosters for the GDF. They last as long as the match does and they can be resold, so experiment with them as they’re very useful.
There’s a lot of synergistic Doctrines worth looking into that can substantially enhance your playstyle and your armies effectiveness.
Always Grab A Garage
Free Heals You Say?
This is primarily a multiplayer tip to keep in mind, but as you’re rampaging your troops around try to keep an out for capturable buildings like the Garage. It’s anNPC buildingthat can be grabbed by an Engineer or Technician.
The Garage is useful because when it’s yours it will repair all vehicles within a set vicinity around it. So they’re useful for a big group heal for free out in the field when you park your tanks near them. Or for making your armor last a little longer in a battle around one if it’s near something vital.
Garages are recommended stopping points if you’re playing on a big map. It’s a long way to run your armor after all. Tempest Dynasty can already do this with a Salvage Van, but it’s handy to have if you’re GDF, or short a van.
Hills And Chokepoints Are Your New Holiday Home
It’s all about location, location, location
The maps in Tempest Rising are well made and varied enough that there’s a lot of unique battles and moments you can have. For your first time around you may not pay attention to positioning, but you really should. Especially when it comes to using the height advantage.
Any vehicle, unit, or building placed on a hill will see further than those at the bottom. So this is perfect for giving artillery units orturret gun linesthat bit of extra range over incoming threats. Chokepoints likewise are solid, especially for the Tempest Dynasty. Thanks to how the game handles explosions, if you get a big group of targets in one spot, splash damage from explosions will thin the herd faster. So use the terrain to your advantage.
The Blob Doesn’t Always Win
To Zerg, Or Not To Zerg
When you’re playing an RTS, especially one like Tempest Rising, you’re going to have a hard time not sending a big blob toward your enemies. Unit pathing causes a lot of things to get stuck, and often by the time the ball of damage has gotten anywhere it’s already being blown apart.
If this happens to you often, try looking into the Unit Behaviour option. It’s in the Settings menu and it changes how your units move. There’s two options, one moves everyone at the same speed, and the other allows for the faster units to zip ahead of the slower ones.
This is useful for keeping speedy squishy units like Scouts away from the frontlines first. Reducing casualties exponentially.
Tanks Make Good Meat Grinders
It’s Only A Small War Crime
This is a feature that’s always welcome in RTS games and that’s the ability to just literally drive over infantry with a tank. With how clunky the pathing is, it’s handy to be able to squish infantry that’s trying to body block your convoys of tanks.
It’s also a useful tactic to quickly mush through infantry that’s good at taking out your tanks. Plus, with how infantry likes to blob together, it creates a lot of casualties quickly since the instant the tank model touches a soldier they drop dead.
This only applies to tanks and heavy tracked vehicles. Light or medium vehicles will just get stuck and shot.
Learn Your Counters
Everything Has A Weakness, Even Buildings
It’s easy to get steamrolled quickly in Tempest Rising. It often feels like your vehicles are made from paper and your opponents from titanium, but you may be making a simple mistake. Each vehicle, unit, and even building has a direct counter and a resistance.
The resistances vary, but they apply to all the different damage types. You can quickly check what something is weak to by clicking on it and checking the stat page in the unit description. It’s a handy way to see what types of units you should be building to deal with what’s being thrown at you. Or if you want to steamroll a base quickly.
Multi-Tab That Build Queue
There’s More Than One Tab For A Reason
Last but not least, if you’re not stacking up units in a multi-tabbed build line then you’re only handicapping yourself. Multiple build lines allow you to quickly flood the zone with one type of unit, or pump out a diversified fighting force in a few minutes.
It’s easy to get started with the extra tabs, all you have to do is build an additional building of a specific type. So for vehicles you make a Machine Shop or Vehicle Bay, for infantry stick down more Barracks, and the same goes for aircraft. It’s a simple little trick that makes those first few moments of a new mission or multiplayer match a little smoother.
