Expand and Exterminate/Units
This page is a guide to the units in Expand and Exterminate. It is intended to give you some idea of what units are available, what they look like, and what they're good for.
Commander
As in most Spring mods, you start with a single Commander unit in EE. The Commander in EE is unarmed, but has a lot of HP and moves and builds very quickly. It is amphibious, so it can move into or across bodies of water to build shipyards, floating structures, or new bases.
Weapons
Weapons in EE are very standardized. Each side generally has a couple of "signature" weapons that many of their units use, combined with a few common or unique weapons. Understanding the weapon types will help you develop good force mixes, understand what your enemy's using against you, and quickly identify new units.
URC Plasma
The signature weapon of the URC, Plasma weapons look like a green beam. They're direct fire, so they cannot fire over units or terrain, and they have a slightly shorter range and lower damage than GD Cannons. They're still the best direct-fire weapon available to URC forces for unit-on-unit combat, and plasma units should form the bulk of most of your forces. Like all direct-fire weapons, their effectiveness increases significantly if they're lined up. (Click and drag when issuing a move order.)
GD Cannon
The signature weapon of GD's tank units, Cannons are slower-firing than Plasma, but longer range and higher damage. Cannon tanks will usually be the bulk of your battle force, and their effectiveness increases significantly when they're arranged in a line. (Click and drag when issuing a move order.)
Rockets and Missiles
Used by both GD and URC, rockets and missiles are practically identical. They have lower DPS than GD Cannon or URC Plasma weapons, but can fire over other units and have a larger area of effect. This makes them an excellent choice to support Cannon/Plasma units, as they can stay behind them and still engage the enemy, improving the group's overall damage.
GD Lasers
A specialist weapon used by some GD tanks, lasers have a shorter range than Cannons but a higher DPS. This makes them excellent at destroying buildings quickly, but poor at engaging enemy units.
GD Ion Cannons
Another specialist weapon used by some GD tanks. Ion Cannons can paralyze units for a short amount of time. Ion Cannon blasts pass through units, allowing them to paralyze several units in a clump at once.
URC Flamethrowers/Cannons
Like GD Lasers, URC Flamethrowers have a shorter range but higher damage. They, too, excel at demolitions, and can also be used as an anti-swarm weapon with cover from other units.
Medium and Heavy URC mechs carry cannons instead of flamethrowers. These weapons have little in common with GD Cannons and, like flamethrowers, are best suited for demolitions.
Anti-aircraft Weapons
Both the URC and GD use a wide variety of anti-aircraft weapons including SAMs and anti-air artillery. They are generally fast-firing and hard-hitting, capable of doing substantial damage to enemy aircraft. They are, however, totally useless against ground units.
Artillery and Mortars
Artillery and Mortars are high-trajectory support weapons. Inaccurate and slow-firing but long-ranged and powerful, they are best used to engage units and structures visible only on radar. They typically require considerable support from other ground units, as they cannot effectively engage close-in enemies.
Torpedoes
Torpedoes are useless against land units, but do significant damage to water units. Note that torpedoes fired by underwater units may not be able to effectively damage floating structures.
Stealth and Cloaking
There are two general ways to avoid detection in Spring: stealth and cloaking. Stealth is always on, and prevents a unit from being detected with radar. Cloaking costs energy to use, but prevents the unit from being detected visually unless it fires, you run out of energy, or the enemy gets too close.
General Unit Types
Like weapons, the capabilities of the types of units each faction can build are fairly standardized.
Mechs
The URC's main ground combat units are mechs. Heavier models walk on two legs, while lighter models and stealth models walk on four or six. URC mechs have a significant maneuverability advantage over other unit types, and are faster than tanks and capable of climbing much steeper hills. They pay for this with less HP and less powerful weapons.
Tanks
The favourite ground combat units of the GD. Tanks are slower and tougher than most other units, and mount heavier weapons. They cannot climb hills well, but rule on flat, open ground.
Ships
Used by both the URC and the GD, ships and submarines are limited to water. They generally move much faster and have much more HP and range than their land-based cousins.
Aircraft
Capable of flying high above any terrain, aircraft are fast and mobile, but have even less HP than mechs.
Light Units
Light units are faster and cheaper but weaker than their heavier cousins. They are your most flexible combat units, and will probably form the bulk of your forces throughout the game. You'll almost always want to have two or three factories spread throughout your territory producing Light units.
Light Construction Units
Light construction units can build everything the Commander can and a bit more. They can build their faction's special metal extractor, Medium Factory, and are amphibious.
Scout Units
A special unit that can only be built at the Light Unit Factory, proper use of Scout units is invaluable. While very weak and easy prey for any real combat unit, they're fast, cheap, and have a huge sight range. Each is capable of building a couple of simple but effective structures. The URC Scout Mech can build cloaked cameras and mines. The GD Scout Tank can build stealthy perimeter cameras and short-range radar. Mixing a couple scouts in with your combat units is a good idea, especially if you use them to build cameras, mines, and radar as you advance.
Light URC Units
The Light Mech factory can build mechs armed with Plasma, Rockets, Surface-to-Air Missiles, Flamethrowers, or Mortars and a stealthy, cloakable mech armed with Plasma. It can also build an ECM Mech, which is unarmed but carries a medium-range radar and a short-range jammer.
Light GD Units
The Light Vehicle Factory can build tanks armed with cannons, missiles, ion cannons, artillery, AA, and lasers. It can also build a "Radar Tank", which carries a smaller cannon than a normal battle tank but adds a medium-range radar.
Medium Units
Medium Units are more powerful and tougher than Light Units, but correspondingly slower and more expensive. They need to be supported by Light Units to be effective, as otherwise they can be swarmed and overwhelmed. When used properly, they can provide an extra punch to an assault or defense force, allowing it to press through or turn back enemies it would otherwise have been annihilated by.
Medium Construction Units
Medium Construction Units are similar to their Lighter cousins, but have a slightly more specialized build menu. They can build a Heavy Factory, more sophisticated (and expensive) metal extractors and power generators, a geothermal plant, larger turrets, and longer-range radars. Unlike Light Construction Units, they are not amphibious.
Medium URC Units
The Medium Mech Factory can build two-legged mechs armed with Plasma, Rockets, URC Cannons, SAMs, and artillery. There's also a stealthy, amphibious version of the Plasma mech, which is slightly more expensive but just as combat-worthy. It can also build a stealthy, cloakable amphibious transport mech, a stealthy amphibious mech armed with torpedoes for anti-ship work, and a minelayer mech.
Medium Stealth URC Units
To help compensate for their lack of battle power, the URC gets a second factory that can produce stealth mechs. These mechs cannot be detected on radar and can cloak, which makes them excellent for surprise attacks. Stealth Mechs armed with Plasma, Rockets, SAMs, and Torpedoes are available, as well as a Stealth Mech with a radar-jamming ECM suite.
Medium GD Units
The Medium Tank Factory can build larger Medium Tanks armed with Cannons, Rockets, Lasers, Ion Cannons, Bombardment Artillery (rapid-fire), and Anti-Air Artillery. Amphibious versions of the cannon, rocket, and anti-air tanks are available. It can also build an ECM tank, which can jam enemy radar, a minelayer tank, and an amphibious tank armed with torpedoes for anti-ship work.
