Tomorrow, we release our new Annihilation modes! It’s been in high demand, and we’re super excited to deliver two takes on this RTS favourite. Annihilation Classic is exactly what it says on the tin; raze every enemy building on the map. Annihilation with Defenses is similar, except for the fact that you start with a few of our new turrets defending key locations.
Ready to get killing? Well we’ve got a few tips from our dev-astators to get you started. Read on!
First things first, the team all agree that Annihilation can get crazy. Ben says, “it gets hectic, because it’s harder to have a defined front line. Your enemies’ bases and armies can be all over the map, so stuff is happening everywhere.”
Jackson notes, “depending on the map, your bases may end up in very different locations from your teammates,” making teamwork especially critical for coordinating successful defenses and calculated pushes. Before you set up, think about how the landscape supports your defenses from attackers.
Additional safe resource points, defensive turrets, and the nature of the mode itself all mean that you are likely to see some cataclysmic battles.
Sarah points out, “Annihilation games often last longer than Power Core. You’re more likely to hit that late game, especially in 2v2 and 3v3 matches.” Make sure you tag in your eight and nine-point elites. You wouldn’t want two of them in Power Core but it’s a viable survival strategy in Annihilation.
On the flipside, closing out the game early with a cheeky rush is also possible, especially in Annihilation Classic. Damon gleefully reports, “I’ve been doing some heavy rushing. In old-school fashion, you can build a barracks really near their base and keep pouring troops in.”
Defend and counter tactics can also work. Jackson is a fan of building a defensive line of turrets in front of his base. He keeps his army further behind the lines, setting the enemy up to assault the turrets and seemingly empty base. “The defenses work very well when supported, so if they attack, you can usually break their army and go on a massive push straight away.”
There are some fantastic opportunities for harassment in Annihilation mode. Noah noted that players often leave their natural three node points undefended, giving you more opportunities to exploit the chaos and harass more than he would in a game of Power Core.
In Annihilation mode, your builder units become much more important. If the enemy makes an assault and destroys your HQ, you’d better have some builders left after the dust settles, otherwise, you can’t make any more structures for the rest of the game. Sarah likes having four or five Servitors in play, with a couple either hiding in corners of the map or camped out in an ally’s main base.
Speaking of HQs, you can actually build more than one! Damon is fond of building a forward HQ near the front. “They give four times the heal speed of other buildings which is great for healing heavy Elites super quickly and keeping pressure on the enemy.”
However, a word of caution; HQs are expensive to build and have significantly less health than in Power Core mode, so this strat is not without risk!
That’s it from our team for now. We hope their tips prepare you for the carnage that awaits. Happy Annihilation folks!