Does anyone build walls?

[mynameisnotbob]

Walls- in theory a sound defensive ploy....but RA2 has a clumsy way of implementing walls. I used them a bit experimentally in the campaign, but it's frustrating to have to build one piece, then wait, then build another section. And being relatively easy to destroy I wonder if they're worth the time spent.

[kyle]

Only thing I ever use them for is to protect key structures from engineer rush. I do this by surrounding the structures completely.

[Doh004]

Walls- in theory a sound defensive ploy....but RA2 has a clumsy way of implementing walls. I used them a bit experimentally in the campaign, but it's frustrating to have to build one piece, then wait, then build another section. And being relatively easy to destroy I wonder if they're worth the time spent.
I always did initially to surround my MCV. Then again, I haven't played in years but it was never difficult to multitask the four(?) extra clicks.

[kyle]

I always did initially to surround my MCV. Then again, I haven't played in years but it was never difficult to multitask the four(?) extra clicks.

Yeap, four. Start off with one corner, then the next, then the third, finally the forth which built half of the entire square itself.

[EliteGi]

Nah it's eight; one to build, one to place each time. :p

Walls in RA2 have little tactical value unless you surround structures to prevent engineers/c4 or if you can use them on choke points which will hold a rush up even more and disorganise an attack.

[Fenring]

If you have to build around obstacles, I agree, they're not that great but if you can build in straight lines, walls are great for getting in the way.

[truefeel]

It can be helpfull at times, especially on smaller maps to wall in a construction yard or a battle lab. Many players, including myself, underestimate the usefulness of it. The only disadvantage is that you need to put it down before your opponent even hints to attack. Handy though when you don't notice a splitter which is atacking your construction yard; gives you some time

[NODorGDI5]

Walls are in fact deadly to an unorganized attacking ground force when combined with strong base defences. They can provide a valued delay time for you to continue dishing out damage, and shift your defending forces in your base to deal with the attack. I find it useful only when given time to build them of course.

I like to use walls them most with grand cannons, nuclear reactors, construction yards, and tech buildings. Another advantage of walls is that the delay time them give you, should repay you the money you spend on them in key buildings being prevented from destruction. Make sure that you have a powerful defence before ever thinking of building walls on the outer edges of your base. And another thing to note it that spies can often be prevented from entering some buildings with a simple wall.


Thank you for giving this opportunity for me to spout off my opinions on walls. :chin:

[truefeel]

Well, a wall is not really deadly for the opposing player; walls only slow down tanks you did not see to be deadly to you.

[NODorGDI5]

I think you under estimate the value of time. If you have just a single thick wall surrounding your base, the enemy have to first break though that wall to get inside to deal damage to your internal structures. Then your enemy can only send in they're forces as fast as the width of the hole in the wall allows unless they widen it. And if you have something like grand cannons defending your base, it gives them time to target them enemy's mass of troops/tanks.

[Ivan_Moscavich]

I've never noticed, do Apocalypse tanks run through walls like Mammoth tanks did in the first red alert? They always seem to be blown apart before I can get to them.
Also I use walls to various degrees. Generaly surrounding my conyard, and my battle lab. Occasionaly I'll make a nice L shape wall in one corner or the other. Or a single stretch at a few points. Ussualy in places where you might expect a sneak attack, so it forces any small force to be rerouted into a better area for me ot handle them.

[truefeel]

Don't forget people basewalk from one ore field to another resultings your base is more a line instead of a compact base. B/c ithe base is max stretched, walling it would be really time consuming and not worth it. Even if you did managed to wall it.

Also note that I'm talking about human players against human player, not AIs. An AI would maybe be dumb enough to fall for it, but human players ussually would just hit 'n run on it. In most cases btw it's impossible to wall your complete base in anyway due some or other object is in the way (cliff, hilly terrain, ore field,...). Also note that static defences cannot match units.

[wargrudge]

Myself and wthigon used to play games and use walls to do a sort of "Pimp my base" edition to Tib Sun and RA2, where we'd make the bases look all fancy. besides that I never found a use for them at all.

[Statalyzer]

I sometimes wall off my conyard. It's not too expensive and can be a real lifesaver. Once on DEFCON 6 I moved MCV to middle at the start only to find out there was an enemy on the hill right above me, so I used 3 wall placements to make a long straight line wall at the bottom of the slope since he was ahead of me in building. It would have bought me a little more time if he came at me with like 2 tanks when my WF was just getting placed or w/e. But he wasn't very good and didn't attack me at all so I soon easily outbuilt him thanks to gems.

[apple23]

I always protect my battle lab and usually my con yard if I suspect an engineer rush is afoot. Aside from that, I rarely use walls unless I want to do something like defend a choke point (where I usually use doubly thick walls) or the entrance to a cliff that I am on. Granted, they can be useful out in the open because if you see tanks from far enough away, you can plant a nice stretch of wall over the route you suspect they will take (think about the shortest route to your base, or whatever thier target is). Then they either blow through the wall, which takes quite some time surprisingly, or they go around it, and if the wall is large enough, that is equally time consuming. Walls can buy you very valuable time if you're in a pinch and need extra time to get your own tanks back to your base and a couple static defences (not alot; 2 prism towers is quite enough) can possibly take out a few of his tanks and buy you more time.

also, if you wanna annoy the crap out of him and you have the money to spend, keep replacing the walls as he destroys them. It is a little bit expensive and not very effective against very large masses, but it is another good time-buying and possibly life-saving strategy.