General Basics

Stuff To Know

This will be a list of things people tend to not know or forget when playing, that may hinder their ability to play or enjoy the game. Such as getting annoyed that when you retreat a mech it will reveal rear armour and soak up a ton of unneeded damage, general hotkeys that slip the mind, etc...

ALWAYS SAY GL HF... none of this U2 nonsesne, just put glhf jokes but still

The only way to get better is through practice, training, joining the community (discord), and finding a mentor

Stuff To Know:

Helpful "Game & UI" settings to have turned on

Resources are vital in every game, make sure to upgrade your resource nodes. This can be done by clicking the node and simply pressing f or manually pressing the upgrade button on the hud.

Unit conservation is just as vital as resources, hit r and retreat before a squad dies ( be generous to yourself and retreat at around 25% health. Be sure to press r again or manually reinforce units that you retreat. Another way to keep units alive is use cover and avoid too much blobbing. Try to avoid base repairing mechs if you can as it costs roughly 3x more than if you were to repair with an engineer squad. Reverse movement for mechs, retreating mechs tend to be extremely unfavourable in many situations. To reverse mechs hold c and movement click (right click). Back capping, this is a great to disorientate and distract many players and allow yourself to engage on multiple fronts. Get into the habit of trying new things and opening your mind to newer ideas that may or may not work, it will help diversify your gameplay and allow you to compete (mostly because they cant always assume what you will do) Mines only target exosuits and mechs. DO NOT spam grenadiers they are not always better than core infantry and more often then not turn into a liability due to being slower than core infantry.

Openings

Timing of reserves:

Reserve timing is now more dependent on the cost of their reserve. Meaning the cheaper the reserve the faster you can expect to it hit the battlefield.

R1 (Fast/ Low Cost): 3:00 - 4:00 mins R1 (Late/ High Cost): 6:00 - 8:00 mins R2 : 8:00 - 11:00 mins (maybe a little earlier)1v1sFast R1:

Start by capturing double iron, then oils (no upgrades)

Send Your engineer to pick up your grenades (while your two core infantry perform the first task)

Followed by collecting resource crates (and nodes near crates) (This is more experimental)

Build 1 engineer

Build barracks

Build R1

Fast R1 with Fast R2:

Note: Requires both a cheap R1 and cheap R2

(Such as Anna, Double Straz, Gunter Double Grimbart, etc...)

Start by capturing double iron, then oils (no upgrades)

Send Your engineer to pick up your grenades (while your two core infantry perform the first task)

Followed by collecting resource crates (and nodes near crates) (This is more experimental)

Build 1 engineer

Build barracks

Build R1

Upgrade Oil

Build workshop (cheaper option) or upgrade barracks

Build infantry as needed but try to avoid until you have built R2

Build R2Workshop First:

Note: It is preferable to have two core infantry in your R1

Start by capturing double iron, and double oil (the oil will be preferable to start off with)

Send Your engineer to pick up your grenades (while your two core infantry perform the first task)

Collect oil crates (and nodes near crates)

Build 1 engineer ( 2 to allow you grab more weapon crates early on)

Upgrade an oil pump

Build workshop

Build light mech

Build R1

General:

Start by capturing double iron, and double oil

Send Your engineer to pick up your grenades (while your two core infantry perform the first task)

Collect oil crates (and nodes near crates)

Build 1 engineer ( 2 to allow you grab more weapon crates early on)

Build barracks

Upgrade oil

Upgrade barracks

Upgrade Iron (possibly a second iron or oil, this is also a tad experimental)

Below is not entirely too important on order but is more situational based

Build core infantry and gunners (as needed)

Build R2

2v2s/3v3sThis is more or less based on team composition and team synergy/ coordination, since 1v1s build orders are essentially the same except I would maybe emphasize resource upgrades over everything.

Notes: Resources from resource nodes are shared, so it does not matter who captures them. that only affects who can upgrade them.

Reserves (Meta)

Reserves will serve as spike in power that allows you to push an enemy, retake map control, or at times counter the enemy entirely. R1 will usually be used to gain an early advantage against the enemy by pushing hard and holding map control, but can fall short if you forget to transition into heavier mechs. While R2 will serve as "comeback" from a hard R1 push allowing you not only retake map control but hold points mid to late game.

Note: Variations of these reserves involve swapping one or more basic infantry with weapon systems, gunners, or skybikes

Meta Reserves (Current as of 05/30/2021):

Reserves (Off-Meta)

These are builds that I or others have experimented with and created that are somewhat viable. Some of these reserves may be meta but due to high reinforcing cost is not viable for many players.

Off-Meta Reserves:

Counters

WIP

Tired of annoying "cheeses" or strategies beating you up, well here are the counters to those. (Not promised to work but gives you a great chance to beat them and recover)

Countering the Meta Heroes and Common ReserveMIchal/ Double Rycer - Infantry mass (2-3) can usually deal heavy damage to him or kill him directly (Keep in mind that it isnt always best to kill michal due to his high reinforce cost; making it cheaper for the opponent to simply buy him back if he dies). Dealing with the rycers can be done with gunners, larger mechs (T2), and mines.

Note: Anna is a hard counter to Michal and can use her ability to one shot him (must target the michal model for it to work).

Lech Variations - Having atleast two gunner squads is generally needed, keep in mind these units will need to be microed heavily. You will have be mindful of their infantry mass as they will try and target down your anti armour units. An Field Cannon is a nice compliment to the gunners but will usually be targeted down first.

Note: Lech's attack gets faster as he loses more health allowing him to melt mechs and infantry blobs alike if not careful.

Brunhilde Variations - Field cannons perform great against her, generally the field cannon will sit behind your army since she can decrew with her mortar shot (sometimes its nice to keep a squad of infantry near in case she does).

Note: Brunhilde's body will body block shots that are coming towards it when she is dead which will prove to be annoying if you can get around it very fast. Be mindful of when Brunhilde has used her ability because if you're blobbing and they target it you will most likely lose all the squads or close to it.

Wilhelm Variations - Field Cannons tend to be the best counter to him alongside bigger mechs. Generally a Wilhelm reserve will have an erl, dealing with this will usually result in you needing to flank it.

Note: Wilhelm being both tanky and having strong abilities should be targeted down first or at least marked as a priority of not letting get too close to you.

Victor Variations - It is generally better to use infantry against him (Given he has used his abilities) otherwise resort to T2 mechs to deal with Victor. Nagans can be countered by gunners (2-3) with heavy micro with a supplemented Field Cannon or heavy hitting mech.

Note: Avoid infantry blobbing at all stages as his abilities can be used against all targets effectively. Do not melee units Victor or use any melee based units such as Groza against Victor as his passive ability will protect him.

Olga Variations - Infantry mass (2-3) can usually deal heavy damage to her or kill her directly (keep in mind that olga can still manage to wipe a squad or two even in a 1 v 4 situation with cover) .You should be mindful of her existence in the game and watch out for her abilities as they can turn a fight around very quickly. If you play Saxony a grimbart is a great area denial against Olga and can allow you to keep your infantry together. If the Olga player went double groza simply build a mine where you think they will attack and use a grenade when they enter melee with one of your squads.

Note: Anna is a hard counter to Olga and can use her ability to nearly kill her. Anna's shots will also knockback Olga making it harder to retreat Olga before she dies

Stiefmutter SpamGeneral counter is Artillery, can be done infantry and gunners but requires a bit of micro and spacing of units otherwise the stief will them as they blob up

Polania :

Mocny Rusviet :

NakoSaxony :

Erlkonig

Exosuit SpamGeneral counters are anti-mech and any AOE units (grenades, mines, etc...)

Polania :

Smialy (if microed well are great at kiting and picking off exo suits), although not a hard counter, they are a soft counter and a great help in catching retreating exos that are close to deathRusviet :

Kolokol supplemented with infantry and gunners Saxony :

Stiefmutter

Smialy SpamGunners can be effective if you're trying to hold a position but will require a back and forth micro, mines are also a great preparation step if you know they are going to dive you

For example you have arti set-up and know they will rush the arti with the smialy two or three mines and a gunner will take care of this

Polania :

Zolws and gunners (one will usually be able to push back 2-3 smialys)Rusviet :

...Saxony :

Stiefmutter supplemented with gunners

Zolw SpamGeneric approach would be to use anti mech units (Gunners (2-3), Field Cannons, etc..) Zolws are tanky but can only take so much direct damage before forced to flee or killed.

Note: It is best to keep a squad of infantry (my preference is an engineer or gunner) near a mech or in any engagment with a zolw since the units in a zolw will target infantry before they target a mech

Polania :

...Rusviet :

Nagan supplemented with gunners or field cannon

VictorSaxony :

Stiefmutter (although not a hard counter can be deadly against a zolw dive if targeted down) supplemented with a gunners or field cannon

Nako SpamThis is a hard one to counter and if the enemy gets to about 4 or more nakos with a nagan and infantry it is nearly impossible to counter.

Polania :

Smialy (will require you micro around the map or during a push you run the smialy straight to the nakos and aim for rear armour hits)Rusviet :

Groza (if microed well are great at flanking and wiping one or two in a go)Saxony :

Erlkonig

Ognivo RushThe general counters to Ognivo rush would be kiting with anti mech infantry (gunners) and AT-gun (not the best if they are already super close and not being distracted)

Infantry SpamGeneric approach would be to use light mechs (such as isegrim, straznik, kolokol, etc...), aoe based units (such as arti)

Notes: Light mechs should always be supported with infantry as they will lose to gunners in most cases

Polania :

Straznik, as it vets it can become a serious infantry killer especially with its vet ability

Note: Before vet it will require you keep it moving against the enemy and keep two or three squads of infantry (I preferably keep an engineer near it in case they have gunners and two rifles)Rusviet :

Kolokol supplemented with infantry support

Victor, use rocket ability and lighting ability

Groza, as they jump into combat and tank for a bit or can jump in and get rid of weapon crewsSaxony :

Stiefmutter (although not a hard counter can be deadly against a zolw dive if not targeted down) supplemented with a gunners or field cannon

Wilhelm, you can use his lay waste ability and rocket barrage to cripple any infantry blob

General Unit Counter: Gunner > Light Mechs (up to medium but it loses its effectiveness if not microed well)

Core Infantry: Vanguards> Rilfemen> Stormtroopers> Gunner

Mech Killers (Lowca, Nagan, and Wotan) > Super Heavies (Tur, Gorod, and Kaiser)

Note: Wotan is generally better in numbers (at least 2) and will require more micro than the other two (nagan and lowca)

Field Cannons > Mechs (Especially Against Super Heavies)

Counters Continued

This section of counters will cover the newest faction Usonia while also covering the free air units update that came to the base game.

Countering the Meta Heroes and Common Reserve

Sita Variations -

William Mason Variations - He is a medium armour hero, you will need a gunner or light mech to damage him, so don't get caught in too much infantry otherwise he will seem impossible to fight when he comes out. He is a very agile hero so be ready to shoot him once he leaves the suit because he will becomes a nuisance with redeploying the suit and causing trouble wherever he is.

George Mason (Admiral) Variations - Admiral will generally destroy all infantry thrown at him so its best to just take infantry out of the fight entirely (if you dont you will just feed him xp and vet him faster). He can be taken down with mechs and field cannons (although field cannons are more of a last ditch effort or you are playing Usonia). I would also keep a few T1 mechs ( smialy, kololkol, grimbart, isegrim ) around the fight to get rid of other air units. To combat the two skybikes in his reserve you are going to want to build a T1 mech to reverse and attack micro them (this works well since you out range them and will fair better in the trade off).

Note He will still decimate the infantry game and early mech game when he comes out so be ready to start having stronger mechs and airships out before or by the time he comes out

Polania - Your best mech composition would be Tur and Mocny (undeployed)

Rusviet - Your best mech composition would be Gorod and a vetted nako

Saxony - Your best mech composition would be Kiaser and Wotan

Usonia - Your best unit composition would be a field cannon and a revere, the number of

each is dependent on how much you want to invest into the counter.

Skybike SpamGeneral counter is T1 mechs they tend to outrange them allowing you to reverse and attack (kiting) them, two gunners tend to be a hard counter to skybike spam as well

Polania :

SmialyRusviet :

kololkolSaxony :

Grimbart

Isegrim

Maps

This gonna be a work in progress once I can figure out a solid general capture order.

Home Nodes - the three nodes closest to your base

Resource crates can give you an edge in the early game so don't be afraid to rush for them just be sure watch your troops

Tips: Putting pressure on the enemies oil is easy on this map and can slow the opponent.

Barbwire the opening facing your opponent for the oil pump near your flag.

Tips: Resource crates on this map are huge and shouldn't be ignored early on, if the opponent is able to steal your crates and a majority of the other it puts them in a strong resource lead early.

This is a large map for a 1v1 and encourages flanking and back capping

Tips: Do not push the center bridge in an even match unless prepared to face heavy losses, pushing this bridge during a stalemate could result in throwing the match.

Area denial is important on this map and is usually best if done with mortars (early) and artillery mechs.

Tips: Use the cover on this map, it is everywhere.

Tips: Map allows you to prepare to fight an opponents mechs by giving field cannons on the map at both the side flags.

Map makes it hard for larger mechs to flank your infantry so you can usually evade unfavourable encounters by using the narrow paths/choke points on the map. This also gives you a way to counter attack an enemies push without worrying that they will flank you heavily.

1v1 Map Openings

This is an extension of the maps section that will cover the openings with a video where I try to not over complicate it but still manage to over complicate it. It is probably better to skim the videos for the map youre looking for since the maps alone get confusing fast sadly.

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2v2 Map Openings

This is an extension of the maps section will cover 2v2 maps.

Notedotted lines represent optional paths for that unit to go

engineers should be the unit you send to weapon crates always

Tips:

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Tips:

3v3 Map Openings

This is an extension of the maps section covers 3v3 maps.

Notedotted lines are meant to show optional paths you could take

where I put team A and team B does not mean that team has to or should do that opening it is just to help me clarify in the video

Tips:

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Fighting The Factions

This section will revolve around what the factions excel at, weaknesses, play-style type, and what to do when playing/fighting them.

Note Reserves will change up the general play by a decent bit sometimes but this is just a general run down to help get you into the groove

PolaniaStrength

highly mobile units

generally long range (excluding lowca)Weakness

squishy t1 mechs

slow and short ranged mech killerPlay-style(s) - micro-intensive, high aggro

How to Play - Typically want to win the early game and try to get a solid lead on the enemy eco wise so that you can challenge other factions late games with vet units (smialy, straz, etc...) although they have a strong late game it is reliant on micro and ability usage.

How to Fight - To fight a pol player you will have to rush their cover and be ready to counter t1 mechs (smialy and straz) as their vets allow them to contest your late game. You will also want to avoid fighting fights where you are out numbers as their long arsenal will usually be able to deal great damage as you get into range but also be able to pick off retreating units if you don't retreat soon enough.

RusvietStrength

Mechs for all stages of the game

T1 artillery (Nako)

Comparably the strongest infantryWeakness

Slow moving T2 mechsPlay-style - all rounder, aggro heavy (can be defensive as well)

How to Play - Overwhelming firepower, you can usually out dps every other faction with either mech abilties or sheer number of mechs and units alone. Their mechs will tend to have high fire rate coupled with a weaker attack.

How to Fight - Quality over quanitiy is key when fighting rus, you need to take advantage of the fact that their mechs are "weaker" in terms of damage per hit. They are also on the slower side so as Polania you use smialy and kite to death, lowca fair well due to their high dps, and the zolw is a great poke and run unit for soaking damage. As Saxony you could use erl and hit from afar, wotan and kite to death, or use steif if they like to blob heavily.

Saxony Strength

Strong mechs

best artillery mechWeakness

weak early game (compared to the other factions)

squishy mech killer (Wotan) requiring heavy mciroPlay-style - defensive, balanced macro/micro, mech heavy

How to Play - Overwhelming firepower, you can usually out dps every other faction with either mech abilties or sheer number of mechs and units alone. Their mechs will tend to have high fire rate coupled with a weaker attack.

How to Fight - You want to hold and take advantage of your early game advantage against Saxony, meaning make sure to transition to mechs faster than your opponent and try to predict and counter what they will build. Mech wise fighting against Saxony is difficult because although they have a large number of squishy mechs they also have the mechs to body block. For the most part flanking can work and is encouraged as they have high dps and slow moving mechs (Saxony can be viewed as a iron wall that walks forward in a sense).

UsoniaStrength

big burst damage

mobility

unique air (Revere and Samson)Weakness

very squishy mechs (low hp and medium armour at max)

no super heavy mech

no heavy armoured mechsPlay-style - heavy aggro, air heavy late game or strong unit composition

How to Play - They are an infantry heavy faction and their mechs have a niche use. They excel in anti air with their revere, and have a solid mech line up, however they must be used in a strong composition otherwise they will be picked off as most of their mechs are squishy.

How to Fight - They struggle late game (given they invested heavily into their early/mid game) so take the game to late game and keep/build a strong mech force up by mid game to contest their infantry and air. Their late game composition will depend on the hero they take but should typically consist of high dps potential but very squishy all things considered. Field cannons, mech-hunters and super heavies can prove to be a problem to Usonia as they dont have any tanky mech that is ranged so they typically depend on a field cannon or Samson to deal their damage from afar.

Advanced Concepts

WIP

Body BlockingThis is a simple idea but it takes a bit to get into the habit of. You want to use a tankier mech to take damage for a fragile mechs, an example would be to use a grimbart to tank for a wotan or a kiaser to tank for a wotan. Another way to body block is using hero mechs since they tend to have a larger hit box meaning less shots will get to the mechs behind them.

Visual Example:

Unit CompositionsUnit composition is important the further you get into the game, as spamming on unit allows you to get hard countered if the player takes the time to acknowledge counters. Simply having one of each mech allows you a more flexable attack/defense, however I prefer to build the composition based on need in the match considering what units they are building and faction match-up.

Visual Example:

Artillery PositioningTypically you want to position artillery behind landscapes and buildings so that the enemy doesn't direct hit the mech and has to go around terrain to get to the mech.

Visual Example:

Heroes Overview

Work in Progress

Right click on the ability to activate auto casting, this is useful you tend to forget about abilities all together or don't care when they get used.

Anna

Role: Assassin; Anti-hero

Michal

Role:Support; Hit & Run

Lech

Role: Brawler; Front-liner

Olga

Role: Assassin; Anti-infantry

Viktor

Role: Castor; Heavy-hitter

Zubov

Role: Flanker

Gunter

Wilhelm

Role: Support; Caster

Brunhilde

Role: Tank

Sita

Role: Assassin; Anti-infantry; Support

Captain(William)

Role: Brawler

Admiral(George)

Role: Tank; Anti-infantry; Anti-mech

Terminology

R1 - Reserve 1; requires either a single barracks or workshop to build

R2 - Reserve 2; requires either a single advanced barracks or advanced workshop to build OR a both a barracks and workshop

T1 - Tier 1 mechs (workshop)

T2 - Tier 2 mechs (advanced workshop)

Core Infantry:

Polania - Riflemen (aka rifles)

Rusviet - Vanguards (aka vans)

Saxony - Stormtroopers (aka storms)

Super Heavies:

Polania - Tur

Rusviet - Gulyay-Gorod

Saxony - Kaiser

Important Hotkeys:

Buildings

HQ - F1

Barracks - F2

Workshop - F3

Units

Retreat - R

Reinforcce - R (when near HQ, Barracks, Workshop)

Community Outreach

The best way to grow a community is by getting the community involved. So I went and grabbed the links for the Official Discord and the Community Tournament Server.

Discord LinksIron Harvest Official - https://discord.gg/ironharvest

Iron Harvest Community Tournament - https://discord.gg/mqj2h78JrS

Iron Harvest Community Tournament NewsUpcoming Tournaments:

League Tournament

Date - June 19, 2021

Sign ups Close on 24 hours before the tournament starts

Host - Von

Rookie Tournament

Open to all players that are unranked or below the top 50 on the leader board

Date - June 26, 2021

Sign ups Close on 24 hours before the tournament starts

Host - LemonPi

Duos Tournament

Open to all players, must sign up with a friend ( if you do not have one we can always help find one on the server for you)

Date - June 12, 2021

Sign ups Close on 24 hours before the tournament starts

Host - ?

Mod Tournament

Reduced price of the workshop to test a cheaper workshop in attempt to encourage more workshop first play.

Date - TBD

Sign ups Close on 24 hours before the tournament starts

Host - Steel Legionaire

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2379755710					

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