Second harvester [ Edited ]

[JadeXyan]

An excellent early medal guide to getting up to level 6 at a harvester disadvantage Mavster, doesn't hold up as well at higher levels though so be cautious as you climb the ladder, barracks starts will wreck you if you rely overly much on stuff like that.

[Mavster07]

We'll see, am climbing pretty hard right now for how little I play (Pretty much do the dailies, always have full fuel and call it a day). Lots of people start barracks vs me already but I find Rhino's will still run down missile sqauds and with some managing (pulling them away, so their units switch target to high health, etc) I eventually just overpower their missile sqauds. Perhaps I'll hit a wall (2335 medals) but as of right now it seems to be the most effective method for climbing for me, still am only level 9 so there are plenty of units I haven't encountered yet but I adjust my strategy as needed.

It's why I love Seth for Nod, they over commit on the missile squads to counter attack bikes. Let me just build a flame trooper and use his drill pod to clear all your infantry out and send the bikes back in! .

[JadeXyan]

Ah 9, yeah you're not quite to the point I'd expect you to hit that wall yet. Snipers, jump jet micro, just a higher average level of skill so you run into people who don't overextend and have figured out how to counter your overly expensive seth flametroopers with a handful of riflemen/militants and that scout early enough to see the bike rush coming and skip the harvester to just counter rush against you, all things that make bike rushes less viable, of these skill is likely the greatest but snipers definitely help a lot :P

[LeoKaiser1]

@ mavster07: thumbs up! That's how you do it right. Your post should help a lot of people who are fairly new to RTS games.
Since there's nothing to say left I vote for closing this thread now.

[DaSud]

I actually delay my second harvester for board control. I like to have my mind on what the opponent is making so I can win the first nuke. That's generally when I will bring on the second harvester.

I am finding in matches vs skilled players the tiberium is actually being mined out, so at least with some tweaks it might become more of an all-in play rather than a shoe-in.

I also disagree with double harvest vs single matchmaking, but it is a hurdle you eventually pass.

[Cottoneyej]

Faulty logic. This isnt a typical c&c game. But to use your logic. It would be like putting two people against eachother and on your side is only green tiberium.  And on theirs is only blue. You simply cannot out build or beat a competent person with double income.

[Maumas1]

I am lvl7 and still can not build second harvester or it is not player lvl need to be 6?

[BattaIia]

@Maumas1

You need to be level 9 to gain access to the NOD faction as well as a second harvester.

To everyone complaining about double harvesters, it is the laziest strat in the game, and SUPER easy to beat.

Step 1: scout your enemy and identify they are double harvesting.

Step 2: Keep the nuke charging. If they have no pads, you only need 1 pad. If they have 1 pad, you need two. (or you can hop off your pad and let them charge it for you )

Step 3: harass their harvesters and base. Keep them building units and buildings.

Step 4: watch as their first tech unit comes out just in time to watch the 2nd nuke sail into their base.

Double harvester builds sacrifice map control to get extra income. So if you tie up their income enough through harassment, your army can easily handle a tech unit or two before the 2nd nuke gets off. In the upper tiers of the game, a 1 harvester build beats a 2 harvester build 95% of the time. That last 5% is mistakes, bad map, or you are facing a +2 or +3 player.

Just because an answer isn't obvious doesn't mean it doesn't exist There are ways to take on double harvester players!

[Devon202]

The only complaint that I have about the harvesters is that the replacement harvester is free. So that small detail allows players to remain viable even when the harvester is been destroyed. So in essence you really cannot stop someones economy by destroying a harvesters because A. they still generate income even without a harvester. B. to replace a harvester is free so there is no punishment for leaving a harvester unprotected. Really really bad design.

[BattaIia]

The punishment is not harvesting for a time. Most players (perhaps out of some misguided belief of honor or good sportsmanship) don't block harvesters. They also do strange things like tech up and let their opponent back into the game.

If you kill their harv, keep building, and keep your army in their face. Block their harv from ever getting back onto a patch and collect the next 100 tib. Repeat with a unit on a pad as necessary until both nukes have gone off, or your units kill their base out of boredom.