Tip Factory #9 - Sight-Seeing
Welcome back to the Grey Goo Tip Factory! In this series we will give everyone short and to the point tips. The tips will be for beginners and for more experienced players. Make sure to keep checking out
GGReplays.com, as we will release many more tips over the coming weeks!
For today's tip, we are going to have a look at sight seeing - what can you see, where can you hide and more importantly how do I stop my enemy from seeing more than I do?
Beginner's Tip
The Fog of War is a player's most powerful tool, and yet it is also the player's most dangerous enemy. Scouting is essential as it reveals the mysterious shroud to provide vital information on the enemy's whereabouts and raises your map awareness to make the appropriate decisions. In Grey Goo, there are three classes of shrouds - Visibility Shroud, Elevation Shroud and Brush Shroud. The latter two add a strategic depth when it comes to planning and execution of strategies, as well as to prompt the player to make necessary risk assessments when attempting to explore uncharted terrain.
Normal Fog of War prevents you from obtaining battlefield information limited by your vision range
Game of Hide and Seek
High Ground AdvantageAs RTS games evolved, the element of high-ground advantage became incorporated into the game's mechanics. It is no different in Grey Goo. Units on higher ground or atop impassable hills, mountains or buildings have extended sight and the ability to engage units below earlier.
As the Goo when scaling impassable mountains, you will be able to see the entire of the mountain top when you are half-way up the terrain. Since the Goo does not have any air units, this should be a crucial point for you to react in a Goo vs Goo match up so as to not get caught off guard by any idling Proteans waiting at the top.
Units on lower ground cannot see what is above. Giving the high ground advantage
Ambush AdvantageThe brush is a special shroud mechanism which conceals units that are within it, allowing the player to launch a surprise ambush upon passing units or to gain a combat advantage even at a state of being outnumbered in terms of firepower. However, visibility in shroud is still limited by elevated terrain. Units in brush cannot see what is beyond a hill or mountain top.
Brush-hidden units can see from inside, but the opposite is not the case.
Advanced Tip
Scouting is essential, but it is dangerous for the scouting unit. Unit preservation is important in Grey Goo and so scouts themselves have a greater value than being merely your eyes and ears on the battlefield. During the early game, the starting Commando for the Beta, Trident for the Human and Drover for the Goo help serve you to survey the battlefield. But as your opponent(s) develop just as you prepare yourself for conflict, you need more than basic scouting units to provide you the information you need. This is where stealthed units and air scouts come into play, to overcome basic anti-scouting threats and keep an eye on enemy movements without opposition.
ConScoutant
Each faction has two different types of scouting units that serve as your radar markers to track critical parts of the map.
Beta- Seeker - Stealthed scouts that can silently camp routes to your base or even the enemy's base
- Stratus - Aerial scouts that excel at scanning the ground with speed and launching scout-beacons to tag enemy units
Human- Dagger - Dual purpose scout and anti-scout that aims to roam the field and return the status of the field survey. When upgraded with Cloak and Dagger Upgrade, it becomes a mobile anti-stealth hunter and base infiltrator.
- Monitor - Aerial scouts that provides excellent vision information over a wide area around its vicinity. When upgraded with Cloaking Systems Upgrade, it becomes a highly effective surveillance drone that can infiltrate enemy bases.
Goo- Radiant - Quadrapod walkers that can scan its vicinity to reveal the shroud over elevated terrain or obstructions. Radiants benefit from the Stealth Sensors Upgrade which makes them more effective in creeping below elevated terrain and spy on possible high-ground threats.
- Dweller - These explosive walkers stay hidden and can camp at chokepoints to serve as permanent map markers for tracking enemy movements. Better still, with the Enhanced Cloaking Upgrade, they can thread the terrain unseen, making them a valuable offensive scout.
