Is this strategy workable in online play?

[RedShocktrooper]

Something I've started doing playing vs. AI in Steel Talons, is producing some titans (about four) and then producing two or three M.R.T.s and loading two with Rifle squads and one with Missiles. I hang the MRTs back, blow the tar out of the War Factory, then use the Rifle MRTs to bolster antiinfantry ability and the rockets to help with demolition.

Just curious here.

[Klandri]

Sounds like a solid rush, although I'm no pro. It would probably depend on several factors such as map size (the smaller the better), economy and so on. But in general the steel talons suck...

[RedShocktrooper]

I find the strategy utterly incompatible with the other subfactions simply because the strategy relies on a Heavy/Medic type dynamic between the Titans and MRTs, simply because the idea relies on the Titans tanking the fire by entering the firing line first, with the MRTs following up and repairing the Titans.

Of course, there IS the obvious hole of a human player simply ordering his units to attack the MRTs, which may make a fifth titan and fourth MRT needed.

And because I'm paranoid, a Pitbull could probably help find anything that tries to hide.

[Klandri]

Yep, they suck in the endgame because of their lack of zone troopers, and any EMP capabilities. This rush would maybe work but I'm curious, how much does this cost and how soon can this be deployed to the battlefield? That's crucial for its viability in multiplayer.

[RedShocktrooper]

All I need is a powerplant, refinery, barracks and war factory. Teching up further is entirely optional, since all the units I use for this rush are available out the front door. The Titans cost all told 5200 credits, the two riflemen 600, the MRTs cost 2100, and the optional missile squad costs 400 (again, I typically just save about 100 credits and just train another rifle squad), and it is possible to build the needed units on your standard 10000-credit starting bonus, and I have tested this against the Hard AI, where it performs excellently on small maps. On larger maps, due to the slow speed of the titans, it faulters.

[Klandri]

It sounds like it might work, I don't know. Just test it out! Maybe if you are in a time zone reasonably close to GMT/UTC we could try it in multiplayer. PM me if you're interested.

[CrazyGDIfan123`]

there are titan/mrt rushes typically with 1-2 titans with 1-2 mrts, but a rush of this magnitude is kinda unheard of

when doing a rush theres a fragile balance to maintain between time lost for eco'ing, and doing sufficient damage to justify the rush.... rushes of this magnitude kinda lose out on that timing bit

a mass of rocketmen would pretty easily beat this rush


st loses lategame mostly because of lack of emp vs scrin hexapod laming... zonetroopers if youre talking garrisoned in marv or hhs are good (although technically i never consider that a 'use' for zones since you arent using any of their real abilities. its most of an upgrade for those garrison units); outside garrisons theyre just trash units with paper armour. they constitute a nice option vs newbie scrins who arent aware that shard turrets+hexa are the best option vs zone-hhs... but its the lack of EMP grenades and sonics that really makes ST lose out vs scrins.

vs gdi/nod factions they fare respectably
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btw ai is really bad... brutal is just about near the competent mark and just because of its money hacks.
its terrible at adapting appropriately like real players do.

[RedShocktrooper]

Yeah, I'm aware of how dumb the AI is. They make such glaring mistakes as not building tanks* when I've got titans knocking on their door - and if they do manage to build tanks, it's never in a magnitude capable of actually resisting, and will pretty much just focus on the titans, while I've got the feeling a real player would take up a "Shoot The Medic First" mentality, and I've got a feeling I should probably ditch one of the titans (Just experimenting in Skirmish, and I've found that more than three titans and two Merts is a little overkill)

[Klandri]

Lol, CrazyGDIfan123 is a much better player than I am, but how could I overlook rocket troops? They make this rush insta-fail unless you bring some serious anti-infantry like wolverines or such. Also like he said, this is pretty much an all-in rush, if it succeeds you are bound to annihilate your opponent but if you fail, your eco will pretty much guarantee your loss.

Also, the steel talons fare respectably against GDI/Nod but they are still quite inferior to vanilla GDI.