Command and Conquer 4

The Conductor unit is a relative newcomer to the Tiberium Universe, not being in any of the previous games. Like many other GDI weapons and powers, the Conductor has an EMP attack that temporarily disables the targeted unit/structure in the same way as EMP landmines and the nasty Ion Cannon pummeling enemies from up above. But, if there is one unit that can do EMP the best, it would be the Conductor.

The Conductor is a tier-2 unit for the GDI Support Class. It looks like a little box with a cannon attached to the side, which gives it an awkward but orthodox look. Its main job on the battlefield is to disrupt enemy forces by shocking enemies with it's freezing EMP attacks. It has a few special abilities up its sleeve in addition to the EMP cannon that make it a very versatile unit.



Here is the arsenal info of the Conductor:

Conductor



Faction: GDI
Class: Support
Tier: 2
Hit Points: 450
Damage: 10 health per emp grenade
Damage Type: Blast (ground only) (strong vs. Reinforced)
Armor Type: Medium (weak vs. Cannon)
Abilities: Cliff Jumping, Passive Repairs, EMP Grenade, Static Field
Upgrades: Speed Boost, Electrolysis Projector

Conductors are underused in most cases, since a lot of GDI support players choose either Paladins for their hard-hitting laser and Anti-Rocket ability, or Hammerheads for their sheer muscle and dual weaponry. Compared to these two units, Conductors seem like a second to best or are not used at all. They are one of the weakest medium units with only 450 hp and they do very little damage. However, these guys have plenty of strengths that one can make use of. Conductors are not the type of units that excel at frontline warfare; they are meant to be used as a support unit and should not be used to spearhead the attack. If used correctly these guys can do much more than meets the eye, not to mention the fact that it makes support players much more fitting to their class name.

Conductor Upgrades

Speed Boost

The Conductor, like several other units, can be upgraded with the Speed Boost thereby granting an extra 20% move-speed increase. It is also the only GDI tier-2 unit that can use the speed boost (the Nod Hijacker also receives Speed Boost), giving it an advantage in speed over some other tier-2 units. The speed boost helps the Conductor to get to and away from places faster. It increases their survivability and their usefulness as a hit-and-run unit. That is, simply moving in to use its abilities (or a quick EMP Grenade) before moving back to safety.

Electrolysis

Once upgraded with Electrolysis, the Conductor can use the Electrolysis attack, and gains an antenna with bolts of electricity discharging from it. The Electrolysis attack is one of the most powerful blast attacks at tier-2 with a wide area of effect, and is definitely worth the upgrade point if using Conductors.

Conductor Abilities

1. Standard Shocker - EMP Grenade

While GDI has various units and powers that cause an EMP effect, only the Conductor carries EMP weaponry as a standard weapon. The EMP grenades have a minuscule damage of 10HP, barely scratching most units and structures. The attack will do area damage, hitting any enemies adjacent to the target. It is, however, the EMP effect of the attack that makes Conductors very useful. The Conductor's EMP attack can be utilized in many ways, from stopping enemy units from retreating to providing breathing space for units that are under heavy fire, by disabling enemy weapons while the EMP lasts.

Some people may think that Zone Captains of the GDI Defense class would be able to do a better job compared to Conductors. Considering the limitations however, Conductors are a much better choice than Zone Captains. These require tier-3, an Ion Cannon for the EMP power and 10 CPs per one, as opposed to six CPs per unit for Conductors, which also move faster and the EMP effect lasts two seconds whereas that of the Zone Captain only lasts one second.

2. "Reduce Their Engine Power." - Static Field

Static Field is an ability that comes built-in to the Conductor. It is an area-of-effect ability which roots down enemies that are hit by it that area. It is like an extended EMP, and has the same effects on mobily but lasts five seconds and some units can still fire. It can be used on all units, which means it is possible to freeze a Crawler that is moving around as well. Static field takes one minute to recharge after use.

Static Field is best utilized when the Conductors are moving around with friendly forces that can deal a stronger blow to the targets. Combinations of Conductors and other units become very deadly against enemies that are retreating: Conductors can root enemies down using Static Field and cripple their mobility so that the friendly units can finish the job. The Conductor can also help friendly forces retreat by stopping enemies that are chasing them. Also, static field can hit air units, freezing them in place, thus making them easy targets for ground units that they would normally outrun. Static Field is an excellent support ability that could be used in many different ways.

3. Bzzzaaaap - Electrolysis Attack

Electrolysis is what makes the Conductors quite deadly. Available after the Electrolysis Projector Upgrade (requires Support Class Tier 2), Electrolysis is an instant Area-of-Effect ability that deals blast-type damage. It is also the only attack of the conductor that doesn't have an EMP effect. The attack is affected by directional armor, so a side or rear attack will do more damage to the target. Considering the fact that most small units have around 100-400 HP, Electrolysis can take out a large number of Nod infantries or Venoms in the blink of an eye, especially when hit from the rear.

A single Electrolysis attack does the following amounts of damage to different armor types with a frontal attack:

• 95HP damage to light,
• 92HP damage to med,
• 100HP damage to heavy,
• about 72HP damage to Crawler
• and 200HP damage to reinforced

Three or four Electrolysis attacks therefore do major damage to all types of units (about 300-400HP blast damage). and can take out reinforced structures with ease. It also makes them useful against light units and allows them to damage air units which is another great advantage (especially vs Venom spams). Electrolysis (like Static Field) also takes a minute to recharge after use.

Passive Conductor Abilities

Cliff Jumping

The Conductor can traverse cliffs quickly by jumping over them. Simply give it a move order over a cliff and it will jump to the other side. Using this ability, the Conductor can get into and out of the action quickly. It can also launch surprise attacks from the high ground or go up a cliff to attack units from the rear. The ability is invaluable and should be used to outmaneuver the opponent wherever possible; especially to help the rather fragile Conductors stay alive longer.

Passive Repairs

The Conductor is one of a few units in the game that automatically heals itself, it does this at a rate of two hp/sec. This means leaving a Conductor out of fire for a while will slowly restore it to full health. It also has a healing aura around itself that heals any units in the area surrounding it, similar to a Crawler but within a smaller area. The healing area makes it an ideal support unit to support allied troops away from their Crawler, along with its numerous EMP abilities. Sure, it doesn't have the healing rate of even one engineer or spanner, but it can heal a group of units at once and fire EMP grenades to disable enemy units. These abilities along with the fact that it can take more damage before being destroyed, make it adequate for light repairs to units at tier-2 rather then an engineer or two.

Hovering

The Conductor uses GDI's signature hover technology dating back to the Second Tiberium War. Like most hover units, the Conductor has good speed and mobility while sacrificing heavier armor. The biggest advantage of hovering, however, is the ability to avoid mines. Like other hover units, the Conductor can simply hover over burrowed incendiary mines without setting them off. This makes both the Unburrowed Mines support power and mines from Slaves useless against the Conductor. Hovering over mines also comes in handy when grabbing tiberium and being one of the only support ground units you sometimes need to collect tiberium with them especially if using a predominant tier 2-3 air army. It makes it a lot easier to get out over enemy mines when getting away, just make sure you cover it against enemy units as it will be destroyed very quickly when carrying tiberium. The Sheppard is still the better tib carrier if it is contested as it has the armor and speed needed.

Things not to do when using conductors

- Do not use them as your main attack unit
It may be tempting to create an entire army of Conductors to EMP an entire army of opponents. Remember, Conductors do very little damage with their default EMP Grenades and have fairly weak armor. Without using them in conjunction with allied units or one's own, they will be destroyed by almost any configuration of enemy units. Even when using an entire Command Points worth of Conductors with allied units, it leaves one very vulnerable to attack and unable to move apart from allied units, making this strategy rather weak. Never send them in, like a tank, to take the brunt of the enemies fire either, the Conductors armor is simply too weak to take that many hits. It should rather be kept slightly behind your own lines to support other units.

- Do not use them as a replacement for healing units
Although the repair aura of the Conductor is rather useful, it simply does not heal units as fast as even a single Engineer. They should not be used to keep critical or valuable units alive, and these should rather be pulled back to be repaired by specialist healing units like Engineers. This does not mean that they are not valuable for healing, just that under repeated fire, they cannot heal fast enough to keep units alive for extended periods of time.

- Do not use them against groups of turrets without the Electrolysis upgrade
Three or more Conductors can destroy a turret with EMP grenades by continually EMPing it. Despite what the counter system shows, this is not what they are intended to do. EMP Grenades do very little blast damage, (approximately 10HP damage, depending on armor type); their main use being to EMP the target. When attacking multiple turrets (or attacking a turret with a single Conductor), there is simply too much damage done to the Conductors between EMP Grenades for them to do any significant damage to the turrets. Firehawks are a much better choice in this regard. With the Electrolysis attack they become excellent turret killers, doing 300-400HP damage per blast. Four conductors can take down any turret with each using an Electrolysis attack (Most turrets can be destroyed with only 2-3 attacks.) Simply micro them in, use the attack and back off before they take too much damage, or attack first with stronger forces to draw fire. Note that Firehawks can still take down turrets faster then conductors in similar numbers, but they do not give the same support options of EMPing and healing units.

Overview

Conductors are very useful support units, and have many different abilities that provide many different options for the adept commander to use. They are units with a lot of usage potential in many different situations and can heal, attack, and EMP enemy units creating confusion for the enemy across the battlefield. Just make sure you protect them and micro them to get the most out of each Conductor.

Thank you to Jackofspades0, Carlisragin and TPPK for editing help and ideas for the Tip and Incia, M4dn3ss and SU3AD for also giving some good ideas and questions

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