Command & Conquer/Nod structures
Obelisk of Light[edit]
- Cost 1500
This defensive tower has impressive range (and due to map layout gains extra range shooting upward, or north), but also takes a great deal of power to function. If a base has insufficient power, the tower will not shoot at all until the power needs of the base are met.
The Obelisk of Light causes significant damage in the form of a laser that must charge before shooting. If a unit enters its range, you will hear the tower charging up the laser (which takes only a few seconds), and the tip of the tower will slowly increase in luminosity before firing. If a unit leaves the range of the tower before the charging is complete, they will avoid taking any damage. This tower can destroy a Mammoth Tank in 3 charging cycles.
This tower has light armor, and is vulnerable against air attacks, so it is wise to pair this tower with a SAM missile battery. It can shoot over walls, so in order to protect the tower from tanks, build some concrete around it to add extra viability.
SAM Site[edit]
- Cost 750
The SAM Site (named for its surface-to-air missiles) is a defensive structure that targets flying units. Due to its attack animation, it must fold out of the ground before firing a volley of two SAMs. The SAM site will then finish its animation by folding back into the ground. If a unit remains in the area after firing, they will fold back out and launch another volley. This will repeat until the threat is neutralized. These missiles have the longest range of any defensive structure and deal heavy damage to units unfortunate enough to be found in range.
The SAM site has heavy armor and can withstand quite a bit of punishment, sufficient for enough time to rally the troops to defend them, as these structures tend to be put around the perimeter of the base, and end up being the first structures attacked.
Tanks, rocket soldiers, grenadiers and flamethrowers tend to be most effective at destroying these structures.
Turret[edit]
- Cost 600
The Turret is a staple of any NOD . It has heavy armor and can do significant damage to vehicles fairly quickly. It fires a single projectile during each attack, but has a hard time hitting targets on the move or if the unit is small such as infantry.
The Turret has great range, but needs the support of ground troops in order to fight off other infantry, and is vulnerable to air units. It is wise to pair this turret with a SAM Site.
Power Plant[edit]
- Cost 300
If the Construction Yard is the heart of the base, the Power Plant is the blood pumping through.
These structures are the most basic part of the base, providing much needed power. When power is low, some structures cease working completely (such as Obelisks of Light and Communication Centers), and other buildings lose productivity, taking longer to build new structures and train new units. As the power deficit grows, the productivity reaches almost zero.
It is a good plan to place Power Plants in a secured part of the base that is not attacked easily, but also good to spread them out a bit, so that they cannot all be destroyed in one single attack. These structures have very light armor, and can quickly be destroyed by a minimal force.
During heavy attacks, it is wise to begin building a new Power Plant to be placed immediately should one be destroyed, thus keeping power to the base, and allowing for units to be created quickly and defensive structures to continue firing.
Advanced Power Plant[edit]
- Cost 700
Like the simpler, cheaper version, this Power Plant provides significantly more power than its predecessor while taking up the same amount of space (thus justifying the extra resources required to build).
While they are more durable than the normal Power Plant, they too should be placed in a fortified area of the base as not only at they relatively easily destroyed, but losing one of these plants is much more detrimental to the productivity of a base.
Airstrip[edit]
- Cost 2000
The Airstrip is where vehicles are produced. All vehicles are delivered via cargo plane, which means there is a delay between when a vehicle has finished building and when it is finally delivered. All units appear to the north of the Airstrip, so it's important to allow for at minimum a 3-tile by 3-tile area for vehicles to congregate if needed.
Depending on the map, the cargo plane can fly in from the opposite side of the map, which not only increases the delay in receiving the unit, but also allows others to see when production is underway. The delay isn't game-breaking as the cargo plane travels quickly, but is still a drawback compared to the GDI Weapons Factory, where vehicles appear immediately upon completion.
The Airstrip has light armor and is easily destroyed by only a handful of troops. It is important to place this structure in an area not easily accessible to attacks.
Although the Airstrip is quite expensive, building multiple Airstrips increases productivity by reducing build time for new units. This is only encouraged if one has access to a large field of tiberium.
Hand of Nod[edit]
- Cost 300
The Hand of Nod trains infantry units to command and conquer. This staple production structure will be the beginnings of any base and allows for the beginnings of a powerful army.
Building subsequent Hands of Nod allows for increased productivity in order to train units faster. Consider building two or three Hands of Nod to maximize output of these buildings. One can also select between each Hand of Nod where the primary building will take place by selecting the structure and interacting with the alternate mouse option while hovering over the structure.
Temple of Nod[edit]
- Cost 3000
The Temple of Nod is a structure with a single purpose: creating a nuclear warhead. The nuclear warhead does devastating damage in a large area, and is generally targeted at the heart of the enemy base, the Construction Yard. Although the warhead will not completely raze all of the buildings in the blast area, all infantry and most vehicles will be destroyed, and is a great start to any final battle.
The nuclear warhead can only be fired once per level, and once it is fired, the Temple of Nod serves no purpose but intimidating decoration. Generally the building can be sold after firing the warhead, but will probably be the end of the level at that point.
The Temple of Nod requires a significant amount of power, and without power the nuclear warhead will not progress. Once the warhead is ready, you will hear a confirmation message, and then be able to select the warhead from the unit side of your production menu.
It is advised to save the game before use the nuclear warhead in case of a miss-click or just want to have fun shooting the warhead more than once.
