Act of Aggression/Chimera Units

Units deployed by the Chimera task force are extremely powerful and versatile. Most of their units pull double-duty in some way, and can often serve in roles outside their designated one. Unlike the US Army, which will usually combine unit types, Chimera players can often afford to use one or two units for everything. En masse, Chimera's units are all but unstoppable. Chimera also has far more stealth options than the US Army does.

Chimera's units are also extremely expensive, oftentimes requiring aluminum in addition to credits. Unlike the US Army, Chimera depends greatly on aluminum to both expand the base and to produce their most powerful units. Denying Chimera their aluminum fields is key to stopping them from building momentum.

FÉLIN
FÉLIN (Fantassin à Équipement et Liaisons Intégrés, or Integrated Infantryman Equipment and Communications) is a French infantry combat system and is the main infantry unit of Chimera. The FÉLIN is equipped with a rifle that makes them extremely dangerous at longer ranges than their US and Cartel counterparts. While their short range abilities are not as strong, they can receive their CQC Training upgrade at the Barracks to improve this.

FÉLINs are also capable of capturing enemy structures. Capturing enemy structures is often faster than destroying them, and gives the player something to sell afterwards. Refineries in particular are easy capture targets, as they are often far away from defences and store a lot of resources.

SAS
The British SAS are snipers that serve many roles in the Chimera task force. Unlike US Army snipers, SAS units are not stealthed and have considerably shorter range.

SAS snipers, however, are powerful enough to act as the anti-vehicle and anti-helicopter units of Chimera in addition to being powerful anti-infantry units. The DU Rounds upgrade is relatively cheap and can improve SAS units significantly in their anti-vehicle capacity. In groups of four or more, they can eliminate light vehicles and can considerably damage heavier units.

As snipers, they ignore the cover bonuses infantry gain when fortified in a structure, and can eliminate them quickly. To eliminate SAS units quickly, either attack them from out of range or try to swarm them with multiple fast-moving anti-infantry vehicles to capitalize on their slow rate of fire.

Grenadier
The indirect fire unit of choice for the Chimera, the Grenadier is equipped with an automatic grenade launcher similar to that of the Fennek and the US Army's Mk 19-equipped Humvee. Grenadiers fire in four round bursts and cause the ground that their grenades hit to burn. Their range and accuracy, however, is suspect and they cannot fire indirectly at enemies they cannot see themselves.

The NLOS System upgrade changes all of this by doubling the Grenadier's range, allowing them to attack indirectly, and also improves their accuracy by a significant margin. While far from helpless in a close quarters position, they are far from effective and will easily fall if unsupported by FÉLINs. The NLOS System upgrade is all but mandatory for effective Grenadier use.

Exosoldier
Chimera's answer to the US Delta Force and Cartel Vanguard is the Exosoldier. Exemplifying the versatility and flexibility of Chimera, the Exosoldier is equipped with a heavy machine gun that causes considerable damage to both infantry and vehicles. Their primary weakness is their lack of range (which is compensated by their fast movement speed) and their relatively high cost.

Their autorepair upgrade lets them heal themselves away from Medical Namers, while their intelligent suspension upgrade lets them outrun most vehicles. Combined with the natural ability of all infantry to scale cliffs, the Exosoldier is a highly dangerous adversary when inserted behind enemy lines.

Recon UGV
This Metal Storm variant is specifically designed for initial scouting on enemy positions and is the only Chimera unit that can locate resources. Other units can scout, but resource fields will remain invisible. Out of all the equivalent scout units, the Recon UGV is the hardest-hitting, with a rapid fire grenade launcher. It can easily eliminate the Cartel's Recon K-MAX and will defeat the American Recon Team if it does not have its Long Range Recon Team upgrade. Once the American Recon Team is upgraded, however, it becomes a more formidable opponent.

Kodiak
The Kodiak AEV3 is a construction unit automatically deployed from the HQ to construct buildings. Once the HQ receives an order to build, it begins deducting resources from the player's stockpiles. Once the resources are spent, the Shredder is deployed and will automatically drive to the structure's site and build it in a few seconds.

The Kodiak can be upgraded with stealth and a defensive automatic grenade launcher to protect itself. Kodiak drivers will only use the grenade launcher if spotted and will not break stealth to fire the grenade launcher.

Crusher
While neither the fastest nor the heaviest of the resource ferries, the Crusher is nonetheless a good resource carrier. Able to carry 300 units of resources, the Crusher drone is middle of the road in terms of resource carriers.

Unlike resource gatherers from other games, the carrier does not actively mine the resources: the refinery does. Building a massive fleet of Crushers does not guarantee the player large amounts of resources.

Nonetheless, having three to four Crushers per refinery is generally a good idea, as Chimera refineries can be upgraded to extract from two resource nodes at once. This increased resource gain is exclusive to Chimera, making the double refinery strategy unnecessary.

The Crusher is also unique in that it can be equipped with a machine gun with which to defend itself. This upgrade also increases their HP from 5 to 8. Although like all resource units they can be returned to base and sold when resources run dry, Chimera players have the option instead to include Crushers as part of their attacking force. As Chimera players build large quantities of Crushers throughout the game, they can typically overwhelm enemy infantry, or act as a home guard while your real task force does its work. As their machine gun is inadequate against armour, however, they are little more than cannon fodder for heavily armoured tanks.

Puma
The German Schützenpanzer Puma is well equipped with an autocannon that can easily defeat enemy infantry. It also is able to eliminate enemy helicopters, though helicopters often out-range it with their missiles. While it is not as strong as the American Stryker MC or the Scorpio, Pumas are capable of engaging helicopters and can carry four infantry after obtaining the Passenger Accommodation upgrade. It is considerably more powerful and more expensive than the American Humvee, which is the other unit Chimera players may see early game.

The Puma shares infantry transport abilities with the Namer. The Namer is the superior transport, but the Puma is better at fighting. Use Pumas to provide infantry with assistance in eliminating larger forces. Players who decide to build Namers will most likely avoid the Passenger Accommodation upgrade. Having both, however, makes it extremely easy to withdraw your pilots from the battle.

Later on the Puma's primary purpose shifts from being an offensive unit to a support one. Once it obtains its Spike-LR missiles, the Puma is most at home transporting infantry and firing missiles into the fray from long range.

Pantsir
The Pantsir is the anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence unit employed by Chimera. The Pantsir is equipped with a pair of autocannons not unlike those found on the Puma. The Pantsir's autocannons, however, can engage enemy missiles.

Another showcase of Chimera's versatility, the Pantsir is capable of engaging ground targets and air targets with equal effectiveness. Its 57E6-E Missile upgrade adds dual-purpose missiles to its arsenal, allowing it to attack both enemy aircraft and enemy tanks at range. While it can be replaced by other units that gain anti-aircraft abilities later, Pantsirs remain effective even in the late game for their missile defence abilities.

Rhino
This South African artillery unit, while not as powerful as the American N-LOS, has several advantages that allow it to shine. Most notably, the G6 Rhino's Weapon Tracking Radar upgrade automatically reveals enemy artillery units in a large radius around it. This makes the Rhino unparalleled in counter-battery fire.

As with all artillery units, Rhinos best attack enemy structures from range. While their range is not at all impressive without the V-LAP Shells upgrade, they remain a powerful force multiplier and can help suppress enemies in both offensive and defensive situations.

Namer
The Israeli Nagmesh Merkava, shortened to the Namer, is the premier infantry ground transport. It is able to transport 10 infantry, is able to defend itself with a light machine gun, and can be upgraded to heal infantry around it.

While both the Puma and the Namer are both armoured personnel carriers, the Puma is better at fighting than the Namer, which is superior in the transport role. There is considerable overlap between the two.

When upgraded, the Iron Fist APS system protects the vehicle from missile fire. As Medical Namers are often targeted, getting the Iron Fist upgrade helps protect your investment.

Metal Storm
An Australian stealthed drone equipped with a grenade launcher, the Metal Storm is primarily a harassment or ambush unit. The grenade launcher is extremely powerful and rapid firing, and like all stealth units it receives a damage bonus when it breaks stealth.

While not entirely necessary to the Chimera's strategy, Metal Storms are highly effective at attacking enemy refineries and then hiding. The Autorepair ability adds to the effectiveness of this strategy, allowing them to repair themselves without retreating to friendly territory. The Intelligent Suspension upgrade further emphasizes this by improving their speed by a considerable margin. Finally, as the Metal Storm is unmanned, it will never spawn a pilot that the enemy can capture if it is destroyed.

As a stealthed unit, Metal Storms are also decent scouts, though Chimera has a better one - the Ninja.

ADS
The American-developed ADS has no direct attack, but instead can blind and slow enemy units that come within its radius. Until upgraded with the Improved ADS upgrade, this only affects enemy infantry.

Players will typically not need a large number of ADSes, but including a few of them with an attacking force can help blind the units that are closest to the fight, preventing them from spotting for artillery. Their range is short and the unit is fragile, so keep it protected.

Fennek
A stealthed ground transport, the German Fennek is capable of carrying four infantry units behind enemy lines. Its automatic grenade launcher is not particularly powerful, but when upgraded it gains anti aircraft missiles that help against helicopters - particularly useful as Chimera does not have a dedicated anti aircraft infantry unit. When combined with Metal Storms, Fenneks can insert infantry to support the Metal Storms before withdrawing. Its smoke grenades can help infantry either close the gap with opponents or withdraw from the battle.

Terminator
Versatility incarnate, the Terminator is one of the strongest units in the game and competes with the M1A2 Abrams as a frontline fighter. While its health is considerably stronger than that of the Abrams until the Abrams applies TUSK, the Terminator's firepower lags behind the Abrams until it receives upgrades. The Igla Missiles upgrade let it attack aircraft while the Ataka Missiles upgrade let it take on the strongest enemy vehicles. Finally, the AGS-30 automatic grenade launcher upgrade rounds out the Terminator with a powerful close-quarters anti-infantry weapon that can also damage structures. The grenade launcher requires researching both the Ataka and Igla missiles to be applied.

Out of all the units in the game, the Terminator is easily the most versatile. A Chimera who amasses a large number of these units can easily become unstoppable, as Terminators become equally effective against infantry, helicopters, and tanks.

This unit is the reason why denying Chimera their aluminum fields is key, as the aluminum cost is extraordinarily high. While Chimera has a structure that lets them create aluminum - the SynTech Lab - this structure requires power to operate, which can only come from the Outpost structure - which costs 1500 aluminum. This forces Chimera to spend aluminum in order to create aluminum. Solely denying Chimera their aluminum, however, is not enough to defeat them. They can still field other units without it.

Buratino
The Russian TOS-1 Buratino, nicknamed by some as the "Burrito", is the Chimera's rocket artillery of choice. The Buratino fires a salvo of incendiary rockets that cause significant damage. The rockets will also set their impact sites ablaze, causing additional damage to units that pass through it. Extremely costly and the only Chimera unit requiring all three resources, ensure Buratinos remain safe, especially from air attack.

Antey 2500
A must-have unit, the Antey 2500 protects the region surrounding it from incoming superweapons. Like the American Patriot Missile System and the Cartel's Skyguard turret, the Antey must be manually loaded with anti-superweapon missiles in order for it to be effective.

Like its American and Cartel counterparts, the Antey is also effective at engaging enemy aircraft, and will not expend its anti-superweapon missiles doing so. Its range as an anti aircraft weapon is extremely impressive, and can lock down large portions of the map from bombers.

Chimera pays more overall for anti-superweapon coverage, as the Anti-Ballistic Center must be built first before any Anteys can be used. However, Chimera has several advantages to offset the increased cost. Firstly, Anteys are mobile and, with proper micromanagement, can cover the entire base if moved around. Secondly, they can protect your mobile forces from having a superweapon dropped on them. Perhaps most significantly, however, is that Anteys are not connected to the player's power grid: they cannot be shut down even if the base undergoes a power failure.

The Antey can be upgraded with Advanced Software to increase its range, and Launchers Expansion which doubles the number of anti-superweapon missiles the Antey can have stocked at once.

Ninja
The Japanese OH-1, known in-game as the Ninja, is an extremely powerful and versatile stealth recon helicopter. It is the only unit that is both stealthed and able to spot other stealthed units. This makes it particularly useful as an artillery spotter, especially for the Buratino's incendiary rockets.

When granted the Type 91 Missile upgrade, the Ninja helicopter gets a significant bite in the form of an anti-aircraft attack. As with all stealth units, it gains an attack bonus when it drops its stealth to fire. This lets it easily ambush slower, more heavily armoured helicopters like the Cartel's SuperHind.

Tigre
The Eurocopter Tiger, referred to in France and Spain as the Tigre, is a highly flexible attack helicopter similar to the American Guardian. It is initially equipped with incendiary rockets and an autocannon, making it effective against structures and small groups of infantry.

Once upgraded, however, the Tigre easily matches the Terminator for versatility despite costing only credits. While not as durable as the Terminator, the Tigre's TRIGAT-LR Missile upgrades give it the power to punch through enemy armour while the Mistral Missiles upgrade give it an edge against enemy helicopters and jets.

The Mast-Mounted Sight upgrade is particularly helpful to the Tigre once it has its TRIGAT-LR and Mistral Missiles upgrades, as this allows it to fire the missiles indirectly. Unlike the Terminator, the Tigre can be upgraded to spot stealthed enemies.

Valor
One of two heavy-lift helicopters in the game, the Valor is capable of carrying infantry and vehicles to the front lines, or behind enemy lines. Easily outmatching the American Osprey for firepower, the Valor is equipped with rocket pods by default and can be upgraded to have anti tank and even anti aircraft abilities. These can be used to clear the Valor's landing zone, or to support your main force from afar once it has dropped off its reinforcements. The Valor is cheaper than the American Osprey, but requires aluminum to field.

Remember that vehicles like the Namer can transport infantry units, and Namers can fit into Valors. This nested transport method with transports carrying transports can let you insert a massive army of Exosoldiers and SAS units in the back of an enemy base, complete with healing abilities. Doing this with Pumas give the landing force some additional firepower instead.

Corax
A dedicated recon aircraft, the Corax is designed to fly into and observe your opponent. Unlike other games, aircraft are called in from off-screen. Once ordered to enter the battle zone, the Corax will fly in along the course you set for it. It will circle the area specified by the player until it runs out of fuel, and will then automatically withdraw.

The Corax has no weapons, but has a lot of anti-missile defences. Unlike other scout aircraft like the Ninja, the Corax is completely unmanned and will never spawn a pilot the enemy can capture if it is shot down.

The Corax's anti-missile defences are completely ineffective against autocannons and guns, making it a risky proposition to send into areas protected by anti-aircraft vehicles like the Pantsir, Blazer, and Otomatic. Using the Corax effectively involves making it withdraw the moment it is spotted. Keep an eye on its stealth animation and withdraw the drone when it stops flickering.

The Corax cannot detect stealth units, making its effectiveness against the Cartel suspect at best.

PAK FA
The Sukhoi PAK FA is another sign of Chimera's versatility. Unlike other games where aircraft can fly and hover, all aircraft are instead called in from off-map. The nEUROn will enter the combat zone, fly to where the player has clicked, and circle the area. It will automatically engage enemy aircraft when they approach.

On its own, the PAK FA is an air superiority fighter similar to the American Raptor. However, once upgraded, the PAK FA gains air-to-ground missiles that can be used at a considerable range. In addition, the PAK FA does not break its stealth when firing these missiles.

Using these missiles regularly, however, is generally a poor idea. The PAK FA's rate of fire with these missiles is slow, and the longer the PAK FA remains, the higher the chance of it being shot down by an F-22, Berkut, or another PAK FA. Ensure it remains safe, as the PAK FA is a considerable investment of credits.

nEUROn
The nEUROn is a drone that is equipped with a series of bombs it can drop of enemies. Unlike other games where aircraft can fly and hover, all aircraft are instead called in from off-map. The nEUROn will enter the combat zone, fly to where the player has clicked, and drop its bombs there. It will then attempt to withdraw.

Extremely cheap for an aircraft, the nEUROn is overall the better choice in attacking enemy vehicles than the PAK FA. Unlike the bombers of the Cartel and the Americans, the nEUROn does not drop its bombs in a predictable, straight line. Instead, it drops its bombs in a large circle around the target area.

What the nEUROn lacks in firepower, it makes up for in defence. Once upgraded, the nEUROn will engage enemy aircraft that try to intercept it with a series of missiles. While most air superiority fighters will get the drop on and destroy the nEUROn, the MICA missiles will heavily damage it. Engaging groups of nEUROns with air superiority fighters can result in a few nasty surprises.