Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars/GDI Units

The Global Defence Initiative is a UN-based organization. Their purpose is simple: to save the world from Tiberium and return the world to a standard state of living. Their chief opponents, the Brotherhood of Nod, consider them to be oppressive to their people, and forced people to live in the unstable Yellow Zones, whilst keeping the pristine Blue Zones - lands unscarred by Tiberium - to themselves.

GDI is essentially your typical, modern army. There is not much that is special in terms of the GDI. Their equipment is both powerful and reliable, but most of their units are not as swift or as cheap as Nod's. They also lack a lot of stealth-based powers.

Red text means it is available in Kane's Wrath only.

Infantry
All infantry except Commandos and Engineers form a squad to boost their efficiency. Also all Infantry can garrison structures except the Zone Trooper. To issue them to garrison buildings select the infantry squad and order them to move into a structure. It should be importantly noted that certain units can instantly kill any garrisoned structures.

Description
GDI Riflemen are cheap and quite fast, and naturally excel at eliminating other infantry. While certain units are more dedicated, riflemen are capable of, in adequate numbers, dealing with almost any threat. Although their usefulness is eventually phased out later when vehicles become a larger issue, riflemen are a cheap and effective counter against missile squads - something that higher-tier vehicles will have issues dealing with.

One ability unique to GDI Riflemen is their ability to create small structures that can hold two infantry squads known as Foxholes. It takes them a few seconds to set one up, so setting one up in the middle of a firefight can prove difficult, but a foxhole can take a lot more punishment than the riflemen alone. Additionally it protects the riflemen from being run over by tanks. Foxholes are identical to any structure capable of holding a garrison, including the liability of being cleared out by flamethrower weapons, for instance. They can also, therefore, be taken over by an enemy force. Foxholes work best with missile squads, protecting their mere two-man team from being squished by enemy tanks.

Counters
As ordinary infantry, riflemen are prone to any and all means of anti-infantry and small-arms fire. Of particular pain are Black Hand units, as they can take a lot of punishment before falling. Since their damage type is gun, they also have difficulty attacking any means of vehicle, with a possible exception of tier-1 missile vehicles (Pitbulls, Seekers, and Attack Bikes).

Venoms and the Kane's Wrath-specific Hammerhead Gunship can attack riflemen with impunity. A hammerhead can be further equipped with snipers for further anti-infantry punch or grenadiers if the riflemen are in foxholes.

As with most infantry, riflemen can easily be squished by treaded vehicles (hover vehicles such as the Seeker are exempt from this benefit).

Description
Missile squads are good against what riflemen are poor against: tanks and aircraft. While slightly slower than riflemen due to their heavy launchers, missile squads should not be under any circumstance be underestimated. While in early patches missile squads had limited use, currently missile squads are highly effective against all forms of vehicles, especially tanks. Anti-infantry aircraft, such as the Venom and Hammerhead, can prove superior to missile squads, except when in a garrison.

Counters
Missile squads have the same weakness as riflemen do: anti-infantry fire. However, because they sport missiles, they stand a stronger chance against anti-infantry vehicles such as APCs and Gun Walkers. However, they should always move and attack in large groups; at least three missile squads are required to eliminate an APC.

Because each missile squad only has two members in it, it is imperative they be protected. Rifle squads, with their large groups, prove to often be effective meat shields for the deadlier missile squads.

Description
Engineers can prove to be a powerful unit, even though they lack weapons. They have three primary uses in the battlefield: capturing enemy structures, repairing allied structures, and capturing or reclaiming the remains of a downed walker unit. They unfortunately cannot repair civilian structures anymore, but they can still garrison inside for additional safety.

Engineers should be among the first thing a player builds, as capturing neutral structures early on can even the tide for later. Engineers generally should accompany walker divisions so that their husks can be reclaimed as soon as they are downed; players often do anything they can to avoid having their investment on walkers turn against them.

GDI Engineers have a particularly nasty combination of combining with an APC for what is known as the "APC-Engineer rush". Players will try loading engineers into an APC, then charge them at the enemy base. As soon as an APC parks right next to a key structure, the engineer unloads and takes the building. This vastly improves their survivability, but can be countered by selling the building (which produces a squad of riflemen which kills the engineer) or putting up anti-vehicle defences.

As of Kane's Wrath, however, Engineers take several seconds to claim a structure, making the APC-Engineer rush a less viable tactic.

Counters
As engineers are unarmed, they can be countered by any unit.

Description
Grenadiers are similar in a few respects to Nod's Black Hand, but are overall less effective. Considering they are the only unit of GDI capable of eliminating enemy infantry garrisoned in neutral structures and foxholes, however, they have their worth. They are most effective against infantry locked in combat and unable to retreat, as their grenades, while powerful, take several seconds to reach their target.

Grenadiers also have proved their worth in Battlecast Primetime. In Kane's Wrath, Grenadiers can throw EMP Grenades, which immediately powers down all enemy vehicles and structures in the radius. This makes them highly effective counters to the new epic units: a single grenade squad can power down a $5000 epic unit, paving the way for other forces to attack the unit unhindered.

Counters
Any anti-infantry attack works best against them. Ensure, however, that they are delivered by either a vehicle or from the air, and be wary of the EMP grenades. An air-attack works best against them, as they cannot EMP air units.

Description
These two highly trained sharpshooters can eliminate most enemy units (save perhaps an elite or heroic commando) in a single shot. They reload slowly, but are invisible unless firing. A trio of snipers will prove highly effective against all forms of enemy infantry, including black hand. Unlike first-person shooters, snipers can kill instantly at any range.

Due to their slow-reload and two-man nature, they are of limited use at crowd control; they are best against units that have very small squad numbers, such as missile squads, engineers, and commandos.

Snipers can work in conjunction with Juggernauts for a powerful base-bombardment strategy. Juggernauts can, using their bombard ability, attack any location within a sniper's line of sight, from any location on the map. It takes several seconds for them to prepare to fire, however, and therefore is best used against enemy structures.

Counters
Snipers are completely incapable of attacking vehicles or aircraft. Failing that, one can send rifle squads at them if the snipers are in small numbers. Since riflemen have large squad numbers, it will take the snipers a while to eliminate them - at which the riflemen will already be in range of the snipers. You will definitely have to outnumber the snipers, but given a rifle squad's low cost and build time, it should not prove too difficult.

Description
Zone troopers eventually replace missile squads in the anti-tank role. Zone troopers are highly effective against tanks and structures; as infantry, they take minimal damage from a tank's Cannon-type damage, while dealing back the maximum damage with their own Cannon-type. Their railguns can prove also effective against infantry squads, but only in small numbers.

Zone troopers are immune to the harmful effects of Tiberium, but like all infantry, they fall easily to flame-based weapons and small-arms fire. Zone troopers can be upgraded to improve sight range and detect stealth, and to boost their hit points and allow themselves to heal.

Zone troopers also sport powerful jump jets that allow them to cover impassible terrain. Jump jets are also very effective against enemy tanks, as it allows the squad to strike them from behind where the tank has less armour. Additionally, Zone troopers cannot be crushed by tanks (except by Scorpion Tanks with the Dozer Blade upgrade).

Counters
As with all infantry, flame-based weapons are always a threat. Their cannon-type damage means they are not as effective against infantry, particularly militants. Black Hand are perhaps their deadliest adversary, as are Buzzers if encountered in sufficient numbers.

Description
While only one Commando can be trained at a time, they are among the most powerful unit in the game. Their weapon can almost instantly kill any infantry unit, and unlike the sniper, it has a considerably shorter reload time. Perhaps the Commando's deadliest weapon, however, is its C4 packs. When ordered to attack a building, the Commando will charge up to it and eliminate it instantly. The same attack can be done against any unit that leaves a husk, making a Commando the ideal counter to a group of Avatars, Tripods, or Juggernauts.

The Commando also features the same jet pack system as the Zone trooper. A Commando with Zone trooper support can prove to be a tough combination to beat.

Counter
An aerial attack on a Commando will almost always work, but failing that an anti-infantry vehicle will work. Commandos cannot be crushed as of Patch 1.09, except by the Epic Units featured in Kane's Wrath. To secure your base against Commando raids, try building anti-infantry base defences; they cannot be attacked from range by a Commando.

Vehicles
All GDI Vehicles are slow, powerful, and are more armored than most foes.

Description
Pitbulls are versatile missile ATVs. Initially armed solely with missiles, they can be upgraded with a powerful mortar system that does wonders against crowds of enemy infantry and structures as well.

They are also among the fastest vehicles, but they are also not very armoured and as such have a low survivability rate. Their speed can allow them to pull off Nod-like hit and run raids, as their missiles cause considerably more damage than an attack bike's missiles.

Counters
Pitbulls have problems against infantry, but only if they lack the mortar upgrade. Tanks and aircraft both are a strong counter to Pitbulls due to their lack of armour.

Description
APCs are capable of holding a single infantry squad. Units inside the APC can fire out, however, making the APC quite versatile. While their machine gun is of limited use against vehicles, a pair of rocket soldiers can easily remedy this. They also can work in tandem with the machine gun when attacking aircraft.

APCs are perhaps deadliest with an engineer. Players can execute an APC-Engineer rush by loading an engineer into an APC then charging them at an enemy's base. As soon as an APC is next to a structure, the Engineer can exit the vehicle and capture it. This greatly improves the engineer's survivability; however, since Kane's Wrath, Engineers take several seconds to capture a structure, making APC-Engineer rushes easier to stop.

APC mines are identical to that of the Nod Mine Drop support power, but it costs less, covers less of an area, and obviously requires the presence of an APC.

Counters
While missile soldiers in APCs sound pretty daunting to both vehicles and infantry, the missile troopers in the APC essentially gain the same strengths and weaknesses of the APC itself; it can still be easily destroyed by anti-vehicle attacks. It only takes three shots from an Avatar to knock out an APC. Therefore, vehicles are always a good bet against them.

Aircraft can prove more difficult, as APCs can work in tandem with the missile troopers inside to put up a considerable missile and gun barrage.

Description
The Predator is loved by many GDI players for its ruggedness, power, and relatively cheap cost. It does have its weaknesses, however; the most glaring of which is infantry and air. Predators (often nicknamed "Preds") cannot attack aerial units and can attack infantry with extreme difficulty. It can still crush infantry, however.

However, Predators cause considerably more damage than Scorpions and are slightly more durable.

A Predator's true power shines however when equipped with the railgun upgrade.

Counters
The tank requires anti-infantry and anti-air support at all times, as it is highly ineffective against enemy aircraft and enemy infantry.

Description
Harvesters are the core of your economy; they work in conjunction with refineries to produce money which can be used on your war effort. Targeting enemy harvesters is the quickest and easiest way of bringing their economy to a halt; they aren't as heavily armoured as a refinery, and they're often forced into the middle of the map later in the game when Tiberium runs out.

The GDI Harvester is unique however in its ability to fire back. It is equipped with a single machine gun which can cause infantry some problems.

Variants
The two GDI subfactions use variants of Harvester. The Steel Talons use a Heavy Harvester which is capable of garrisoning an infantry squad, making it an APC-Harvester combination. Putting a missile squad inside will give the Heavy Harvester the powerful ability to fire missiles, making it more capable of defending itself against tanks. The ZOCOM Rocket Harvester is identical to a Heavy Harvester with a missile team. The rockets on this Harvester, however, completely replace the machine gun; it cannot be garrisoned.

Heavy Harvesters, since they can garrison units, can also function as APCs. It is therefore possible for the Steel Talons to employ an extremely early Engineer rush by building a refinery, selling one's Construction Yard, and garrisoning the engineer produced by selling the construction yard into the Heavy harvester from the Refinery.

Counters
Due to its slow speed and lack of effective counterattacks, any unit can attack a harvester and emerge victorious. Missile troopers in a garrison work quite well, as do tanks. Infantry alone, however, can be shot by the harvester's machine gun or crushed.

Rocket Harvesters can be countered with infantry, but be careful of nearby Tiberium. Heavy Harvesters should be approached with caution depending on the infantry unit inside, if any.

Description
The Juggernaut, also known affectionately as a "Jugg", is GDI's artillery vehicle. Despite popular belief, the Juggernaut is not an effective combat unit like the Avatar or the Tripod. It is effective at long range and works wonders against structures. It does not have a lot of health and can be easily killed even by missile soldiers.

One ability unique to the Juggernaut is its ability to bombard, from any range, anything within line of sight from a sniper team. Although it reveals the snipers for a brief moment, and renders the snipers immobile (if they move, the Juggernauts cancel), it can be a powerful distance attack on enemy defences, and is one of the best ways to counter a turtling player or computer.

Like the Avatar and the Tripod, Juggernauts leave a husk when killed; they can be captured by engineers. They are also vulnerable to a Commando's C4 charge. Engineers in APCs are the best and speediest way of recovering downed husks. You can also shoot or crush them in the event recovery is impossible.

Counters
As an artillery unit, anything up close can fry Juggernauts easily. Infantry work best, since a Juggernaut's cannon damage type is highly ineffective against them. They are completely incapable of attacking anything above them, as well.

Description
An underused unit, the Rig is capable of deploying into a powerful Battle Base. More than capable of defending itself, the Battle Base sports a pair of Guardian Cannons to defend against armour, a missile launcher for dealing with aircraft, and stealth detectors. Perhaps most importantly, however, it sports three repair drones which repair nearby allied vehicles, making this unit ideal for holding terrain that won't be used as a base. Unlike a Surveyor, the Battle Base does not create ground control around it, so you cannot build additional base defences or structures around it. Also unlike the Surveyor, it can pack up and relocate with the base.

Counters
When in Battle Base mode, infantry work well against it. A pair of Shadow Teams can fry a Battle Base with a pair of detpacks. It is quite vulnerable to anti-structure attacks when in Battle Base form, and can be destroyed by any unit with a weapon while in Rig form.

Description
The MCV is completely unarmed and quite slow, and is lightly armoured. It is very important, however, as it deploys into a Construction Yard, the core of your operation. It is also capable of packing up and relocating where needed.

Counters
Since the MCV and the construction yard lack weapons, any unit with a weapon can attack and win against it.

Description
The Surveyor is an unarmed vehicle capable of deploying into an outpost structure which provides ground control. It essentially acts as a new MCV would, but it costs less and does not build any structures on its own. Additionally, Surveyors take a few seconds to unpack into an Outpost, while MCVs unpack into Conyards on a moment's notice.

Outposts - and thus Surveyors - are best deployed near Tiberium fields, thus allowing players to build refineries next to them.

Counter
While the Surveyor can crush infantry, it is lightly armoured and rather slow, so any unit with a weapon can eliminate a surveyor. Nod Shadow teams often target Outposts.

Description
Without a doubt the most powerful tank of the GDI arsenal, the mammoth tank is powerful, pricey, yet still quite vulnerable. Unlike other tanks it is armed with rocket launchers capable of eliminating enemy aircraft. Venoms will have a difficult time damaging the tank. The mammoth tank can also crush lower-tier units such as the Scorpion and Predator.

The GDI's version of the Avatar or Tripod, the mammoth tank has a few advantages. Firstly, it can attack air units, something neither the Avatar nor the Tripod can do. Additionally, they don't leave a husk when killed, so players don't have to worry about their investment on mammoth tanks turning on them.

Like all vehicles, however, mammoth tanks lack armour in the back, making attacks to its back quarter extremely devastating.

Counters
While the average player wonders how to stop an army of a million mammoth tanks advancing on a player's base, the solution is actually quite simple. They are most vulnerable to an EMP attack, as once disabled, they can easily be taken apart by just about anything. EMP-equipped raider buggies can seriously cause a lot of problems for a huge group of mammoths, as can Grenadiers equipped with the EMP Grenades ability (regrettably, this tactic is available in Kane's Wrath only). The GDI can also use the Shockwave Artillery support power to disable mammoth tanks, and the Scrin can use the Stasis Field on half of the mammoth tanks to reduce their numbers. Tripods also have a secondary EMP attack that disables vehicles close to them.

Aircraft will be taken apart by the missile launchers, so don't use them. Zone troopers, stealth tanks, other Mammoth Tanks, and Shock troopers are all very powerful mammoth counters. Zone troopers and shock troopers can use their jump jets or blink packs to get behind mammoths and cause them problems. Stealth tanks can't teleport, but they can still cause problems by sneaking behind the mammoth tanks. A Redeemer's rage generator is also effective.

Orca Gunship

 * Time to fire all rockets: ~5 seconds

Description
Orcas, unlike their Nod brother the Venom, sport a limited amount of rockets. The rockets are extremely powerful, however, and are capable of eliminating anything without air defences quite easily. This makes them highly effective against mid-tier tanks and walker units. Their speed also makes them ideal for harassing Harvesters, and they have a powerful Pulse Scan ability that reveals nearby stealthed adversaries.

Perhaps the most underused ability in the game is the sensor pod, equippable by the Orca. It can attach a sensor pod to any unit or structure, allowing it to see through stealth. It is the ideal counter to a disruption tower on an enemy base. The most common targets for sensor pods are war factories, tier-3 walkers, and disruption towers. The pod cannot be removed unless the target has been destroyed (or in the case of buildings, sold) or unless two minutes pass, at which their battery runs out.

Counter
Venoms, Stormriders, and Firehawks are the ideal counter to Orcas, as they simply cannot fire back. Orcas are completely incapable of attacking aerial units. SAM Sites are also highly effective, as is rocket infantry.

Firehawk

 * Bracketed numbers are values for air-to-air loadout.

Description
A versatile attack aircraft, the Firehawk is a flexible GDI aircraft, next perhaps only to the Kane's Wrath-specific Hammerhead gunship. They are often abbreviated to "Fhawk".

Capable of switching between bombs or AAMs while docked at an airfield, the Firehawk is highly effective against aircraft, structures, and infantry alike.

One ability unique to the Firehawk is its ability to use the Stratofighter Booster upgrade to launch itself into the stratosphere for a split second before appearing to any point on the map. In practice, this is identical to a Mastermind's teleportation system. Stratofighter boosters can also be used defensively; if a group of PACs appear outside of your base, you can have the Firehawks stratofighter right into the fray and heavily damage, or possibly destroy, a PAC. This makes them effective against putting out fires caused by air units across the map.

Firehawks are the best anti-aircraft vehicle the GDI can sport, minus the Kane's Wrath-specific Slingshot AA hovercraft. Their missiles cause a lot of damage against enemies and, as of patch 1.09, fire in volleys of four. This makes Firehawks highly effective against particularly Scrin aircraft, such as Devastators, Stormriders, and PACs.

Counter
Unlike the Aurora bomber from Command & Conquer: Generals, the Firehawk can be shot down en-route to its destination. Additionally, its targeting AI still puts units ahead of structures, so when ordered to stratofighter into an enemy base, they will automatically target base defences (which regenerate if Nod) or harvesters.

While a single Venom can be shot down by a Firehawk, Firehawks are considerably more expensive than a Venom, and they also need airfields. The destruction of an airfield can seriously hamper a Firehawk's ability to harm your units. As previously mentioned, while a Firehawk can easily shoot down single Venoms, a group of Venoms can easily fry four Firehawks, especially if upgraded with laser capacitors. Missile infantry are a cheap counter as well, but will be often fried by a Firehawk's bombs. SAM Sites are your best bet.

Description
The V-35 Ox can be "produced" by any unit equipped with the Call for Transport ability. Sporting no weapons of its own, the Ox transport is a swift transport vehicle used to reach impassible areas. If an Ox is shot down before it can drop its cargo, the cargo is destroyed with the transport.

V-35s also bring in reinforcements most of the time - the GDI Sharpshooter team, the Bloodhounds, and the Airborne support powers all require V-35s to deliver the units to their location - therefore, keeping these units safe is of utmost importance.

Counter
V-35s have no weapons of their own and can be countered by any unit capable of attacking aircraft.