Red Alert 3

Here comes the second installment of three wonderful guides, the Build Order Guide Part 2 - Allies. Read on and learn about the strategies that Allied players can pluck from their wide arsenal. There are both popular and lesser known build orders and their variations, including the Fast Airfield, War Factory, and Naval Yard build orders.

Air Build Orders

The Airfield is the crux of the the Allied arsenal. Coupled with the Advanced Aeronautics protocol, Planes have the advantage of high speed and maneuverability and with good timing, can deliver game-changing blows to an opponent's base or army.

Standard Airfield Build Order

Effectiveness Vs. Experienced Players: High
Effectiveness Vs. Newer Players: High

This is THE bread and butter of the Allies player and the most common and standard build order that opens you up to a good mid-game. It gives you everything you need to win: a decent economy with good defense against harassment, but this is just a basis from which all other build orders mid-game are built from.

The Build

1. Barracks:
   • This will allow you to scout/counter scout and it will also allow you to capture an Oil Derrick with an Engineer.
2. Power Plant:
   • Place your Power Plant besides the Refinery on the opposite side of the ore node, so you can wall it with the Refinery, or as far away from your opponent as you can.
3. Refinery #1:
   • This will start your economy going and will allow you to make an Airfield.
4. Refinery #2:
   • Second Refinery is for a stronger early economy.
   • Don't forget to wall your Refineries.
5. Power Plant:
   • This is needed so that you don't go to low power mode.
6. Airfield:
   • Your Economy is now very strong and it's time to start building Vindicators and Apollos.
7. Refinery #3:
   • If all goes well pack up your MCV, expand to the closest Ore Node and build a third Refinery.
   • Support your expansion with Vindicators and infantry.

Don't spam to much infantry 7-8 max and don't fill up your entire Airfield early on before your 3rd Refinery is finished constructing. Always make 2 air units max and never lose them. If you do fill up entirely this hurts your economy too much and it will actually stall your quick launch into mid-game.

What to build on the Airfield:

• vs Allies: 2x Vindicator, or if you scout a mirror build order, 2x Apollo
• vs Soviets: 2x Vindicator, only ever make an Apollo if you scout a fast Airfield build order
• vs Empire: 1 Apollo (first, kill a Burst Drone with it) then 1 Vindicator. This is to counter any Tengu rush. If he really goes to a all in Tengu rush, add 2 more Apollos and delay the 3rd Refinery a little.

After the 3rd Refinery...

There are many ways you can take:

• build more air units and start attacking,
• expaned to the 4th refinery,
• construct an Armored Facility and start training armored units,
• construct another Airfield, or go Naval,
• start researching higher tier levels and many more.

Which path will you take depends on your and your opponent's current situation, so never forget to scout what's going on on the battlefield.

Fast Airfield

Effectiveness Vs. Experienced Players: Moderate - High
Effectiveness Vs. Newer Players: High

A quick airfield allows the Allies to launch their harassment as fast as possible, and with very few weaknesses early on. Moreover, aerial scouting is unhindered by terrain and basic infantry, allowing you a quick glance at anything on the map. Although planes are expensive, the quick offensive will give your harvesters time to collect or, allowing you to add variation to this build order in any way you see fit, whether for a Cryocopter rush, a barracks for infantry, or even a quick expansion. The ability to scout, opportunity to deal quick damage, and the potential for variation are what make this build order successful even in the highest levels of play.

Build Order

1. Power Plant:
   • In the Allied fast Air build order the Power Plant comes first, because you can build an Arifiled immediately after it.
2. Air Field:
   • Place you Airfield close to the place where one of your refineries will be place, so that you can heal your Prospector and also to easily wall your Airfield next to a Refinery to defend you from early infantry harassment.
   • Build two Vindicators and send them to your opponents base as soon as they get out of the Airfield. Against Empire it's better to build one Apollo first, to deal with Tengus, followed by Vindicators.
3. Refinery #1:
   • Now is the time to get your economy started.
4. Refinery #2:
   • Don't forget to wall your refineries!

Using this build order you can adapt it to go for an early Cryo-Copter rush if you desire, just remember to tech up your Heighten Clearance and then build a Cryo-Copter or two and then go Vindicators. Using this as a combo vs. harvesters is devastating.
The use of this with a combined Barracks can yield a Peacekeeper spam with added Air allowing you to control your opponent until he begins to build Sickles to counter you or Bull Frogs to get your Cryo-Copters. If he starts to build MiGs, build a third Air field and begin to produce Apollos. When attacking spread your Apollos out so they take less damage.

Variations

Refinery First

1. Power Plant:
   • Place your Power Plant besides the Refinery on the opposite side of the ore node, so you can wall it with the Refinery, or as far away from your opponent as you can.
2. Refinery #1:
   • This will give you a better starting economy.
3. Air Field:
   • Place it near a Refinery and as close to your opponents base as you can, so your Vindicators don't have to travel over long distances.
4. Refinery #2:
   • Don't forget to wall both of your Refineries.

This gives you a better early economy to the previous build but lacks EARLY scouting or counter scouting.

The good thing about this build order is if you fail with the Vindicators you have a bigger economy to fall back on and begin infantry or tank production or just expanding again.
obviously you could expand again with this build order but a majority of the time its best to go