Second harvester
Ok im a little new to it but how do I build a second harvester I don't get the option to and I'm just confused on how to do this
Forum Discussion
Only problem with that is the fact that people below lvl 6 get match made against this and skill goes to the wayside. When I see double harvesters at the start of the match I just quit. Not worth the time
Steps for dealing with double harvester start
1) War Factory --> Pitbull/Attack Bike --> Scout their starting
a) Don't build your own harvester yet, wait for scouting information. This is a very easy way to counter Orca rushers, if you see a helipad/air tower and no harvester of their own, they already have a Orca on it's way to kill your non-existent harvester. Don't bother even building a harvester until you are capable of dealing with the Orca, he has no harvester either so he has no advantage on you. Orca's hit hard but Pitbulls can attack while moving, Orca's are fresh meat to them due to their reload time, build them and hunt it down and if he builds a harvester you have Pitbulls on the field to easily destroy it.
b) If you see them with two harvesters (2nd one should be built as you approach the base), play extremely aggressive, this means build 1-2 more Pitbulls/Attack Bikes, including something that can deal with missile/laser squads, unless they build a war factory then just keep pumping out Pitbulls/Attack Bikes. You have number advantage, micro your low life units away. Pitbulls can attack while moving, abuse it, I have easily used 2 pitbulls to dominate 2-4 attack bikes without losing one as well as used Pitbulls to run circles around harvesters while the enemy attempts to chase me.
2) Are you winning the "Fight"?
a) If you can completely dominate him and attack his base directly, DO IT! You don't need the missile to win, sitting back waiting for the missile is how they get back into the game.
b) Do you actually need a harvester to win this game? Harvesters take up a unit slot, another troop on the field allows you to pressure them even more. If they are just feeding you harvester kills like morons, you already have a source of income. If they are smart and not feeding you harvesters, you want to build one so you can keep the pressure on.
c) If you're unable to win the "Fight" and push him to his base, turn your aggression to controlling the furthest two tiles, it still gives you map advantage and you have control of the missile with a extra tile on your side if you need it (If you don't need a 3rd tile, don't bother with it).
I understand the annoyance of them having the option of double harvester start but all I see is excuses and a refusal to change the way you play. Double harvester starts can be punished extremely hard, the only thing that kinda prevents me from being super aggressive early is the Nod Scarabs (Depending on positioning). If a Pitbull can sneak around, even scarabs are useless against it's mobility. It's extremely rare that I lose to a double harvester start (If I do, it's because I built a damn Rhino by mistake over a Pitbull >_<), they're probably the easiest games for me to win.
An excellent early medal guide to getting up to level 6 at a harvester disadvantage Mavster, doesn't hold up as well at higher levels though so be cautious as you climb the ladder, barracks starts will wreck you if you rely overly much on stuff like that.
We'll see, am climbing pretty hard right now for how little I play (Pretty much do the dailies, always have full fuel and call it a day). Lots of people start barracks vs me already but I find Rhino's will still run down missile sqauds and with some managing (pulling them away, so their units switch target to high health, etc) I eventually just overpower their missile sqauds. Perhaps I'll hit a wall (2335 medals) but as of right now it seems to be the most effective method for climbing for me, still am only level 9 so there are plenty of units I haven't encountered yet but I adjust my strategy as needed.
It's why I love Seth for Nod, they over commit on the missile squads to counter attack bikes. Let me just build a flame trooper and use his drill pod to clear all your infantry out and send the bikes back in! 🙂.
- Ah 9, yeah you're not quite to the point I'd expect you to hit that wall yet. Snipers, jump jet micro, just a higher average level of skill so you run into people who don't overextend and have figured out how to counter your overly expensive seth flametroopers with a handful of riflemen/militants and that scout early enough to see the bike rush coming and skip the harvester to just counter rush against you, all things that make bike rushes less viable, of these skill is likely the greatest but snipers definitely help a lot :P
- @ mavster07: thumbs up! That's how you do it right. Your post should help a lot of people who are fairly new to RTS games.
Since there's nothing to say left I vote for closing this thread now. I actually delay my second harvester for board control. I like to have my mind on what the opponent is making so I can win the first nuke. That's generally when I will bring on the second harvester.
I am finding in matches vs skilled players the tiberium is actually being mined out, so at least with some tweaks it might become more of an all-in play rather than a shoe-in.
I also disagree with double harvest vs single matchmaking, but it is a hurdle you eventually pass.
