Empires Player Guide

Table of contents:

These hints will help you on your way towards having a fun first game of Empires. Have fun, and see you on the battlefield!

In Empires, TEAMWORK IS KEY. Go in alone and you'll take out two or three guys, go in with your teammates and you'll take out an entire forward base.

How to get into the action

• Commander: At the very start of a match, you need to choose a commander. Vote for someone who already has a lot of votes. Do not command if you are new, wait until you understand the basics of the game and understand what research is useful.
  A good commander won't guarantee that you win the game, but a bad commander will guarantee that you lose it.
• Choose a squad: While you're waiting for a Commander Vote to finish (it won't take long, the vote is about 60 seconds) you can choose a squad by opening the squad window ("C" by default) and join or create one.
• Make sure you're in a squad and move out right away. There is no Vehicle Factory, no Armory, and very little in terms of defense at your home base, so don't bother looking for it.
  
  • The sooner you reach the front lines, the sooner you can establish a good defensive barrier to defeat the enemy. Don't dawdle around the base!
  • If you noticed someone who did well in the previous match, follow them if they are an Engineer and watch what they do.
  • Believe it or not, but the most deaths among new players come from enemy mines. ALWAYS keep a lookout for them on the ground.
  • You can get extra ammunition from engineers from ammo boxes they can drop or from an armory which you will not have at the start of the game. Just use the request ammo voice command ("F" menu by default) and an engineer should be willing to help you.
  • If you're an Engineer, don't be afraid to let the other classes charge into the fray first. You're the jack-of-all-trades, which means the other classes are better at dealing with their area of expertise... let them handle it.
• Choose the Engineer class at the start of any classic map. Yes, the Scout sounds really cool, but it is near useless unless you know exactly what you're doing. An Engineer can do everything you need early in the game, so you'll be prepared for anything that hits you.

Your Objectives and what to do

1. Move towards the enemy base, and look for resource nodes- they're the yellow dots on your minimap. When you get to one, ask your Commander to drop a refinery on it, so you can build it. Don't stand too close so there's room for the building, and watch out for enemies!
2. Prepare to engage the Enemy once you're close enough to their infantry and defenses (usually anywhere in the middle of the map). As an engineer, you're ready to build any buildings the commander drops for you. Now is a good time to build your own turret and camera, or maybe some walls to give your team cover.
3. Press the Offensive! Now that all the refineries are captured by someone, you're going to have to start attacking the enemy if you want their refineries for your team. Be sure to stick with your squad, and focus your attacks on spawn points to push the enemy back, not their infantry, or they'll simply keep coming at you. If there's an undefended enemy refinery, destroy it and build your own!
4. Move in for the kill: When tanks start rolling out, you can do some serious damage. If you've successfully pushed the enemy back somewhere along the front lines, keep attacking the weak point.

• You are able to select your spawnpoint by bringing up the spawn map ("Enter" by default). After a while, the commander may have a forward barracks set up closer to the front lines, or there may be an APC closer to the enemy. You won't have to spend any time walking to the enemy by choosing to spawn in one of these new areas.
• If your commander gave you an order, you should probably do it. He can see the whole battlefield, so he knows what the enemy is up to, and what you can do to defeat them. There's a good chance he gave that order because it will greatly aid the team.
• Go easy on your commander. Commanding is probably the toughest job in the game, and not everyone is an expert at it. If someone inexperienced volunteers to command because no one else wants to, remember that they stood up to the challenge when no one else would -- so cut them some slack.

Known Bugs

Hey, we're still in beta, and we're working on these bugs:

1. In Command View, you may sometimes see 'ghost' walls appearing from weird locations. They don't do anything else, though.
2. Sometimes you may be revived under the map. You'll have to suicide (type 'kill' command in the console ("`" by default), although must be enabled in the Options-> Multiplayer menu first or switch to spectator and back), as this is seen as a game exploit, and will get you (permanently) banned from game servers if you do not suicide. Don't say we didn't warn you.

That's pretty much it. Stick together, listen to your Commander and use tactics instead of only raw firepower and you'll have a great time. Enjoy your first game of Empires.