Zero Hour – Laser General vs. Chinese Tank General

This is a huge map where your strong defense is pitted against the Chinese Tank General’s strong ground offense. A massive buildup of Laser Turrets will help keep your base safe from the massive tank onslaught and it can actually be quite enjoyable sitting back and watching your defense hold the line.

But offense is another matter. A stalemate can be developed trying to overwhelm the Chinese base, and with myriads of hackers at work for the opposition, they will keep rebuilding their base while you regroup your losses. But advanced American intelligence tactics can eventually turn the tides of battle.

Key Strategies

• Immediately build two extra Supply Helicopters (versus just one) to help build up defenses quicker. This takes a lot of pressure off of this mission.
• Build massive Laser Turrets to protect from tank rushes.
• Use four Missile Defenders to protect your westernmost Laser Turret as you build toward the west. If you don’t do this, an Overlord will slowly pick apart one Laser Turret at a time moving slowly toward the east side of your base.
• Protect your flanks. Be sure you have two Laser Turrets running parallel north and south on the eastern flank.
• Patiently build up Particle Cannons while achieving higher rank. Once you have all of your General’s Powers available, use them in conjunction with your Particle Cannons to destroy the Command Center and all bulldozers during a single attack. You can use your radar scan available from the Strategy Center to locate the three dozers. After this, no more buildings can be built and you can methodically destroy their base.

Walkthrough

The key to winning this mission is finding the right balance of base defense and base growth. The following works quite effectively.

Start with the basic Reactor, Barracks, Supply Center. Upgrade the Reactor.

Important: Build two extra Supply Helicopters.

Build six Laser Turrets before building the War Factory. Build and upgrade another Reactor along the way. Put three in a triangular position to the east side of your base to destroy the first Overlord that comes rolling along from that direction. (Two parallel running north and south and the third one not too far to the west of the northernmost Turret.) Your eastern flank is now fairly secure.

Build the other three in a straight line on the front portion of your base. You will slowly build a string of these turrets moving methodically westward as your base expands.

Build your War Factory and Strategy Center, along with a third Reactor.

Now is the time to build four Missile Defenders to help aid the expansion of your Laser Turrets to the west. After creating these troops, station them by the Laser Turret furthest to the west, having your men closely defending it.

Now it’s time to assure a steady flow of income. Build a Supply Drop Zone in the back of your base, a seventh Laser Turret to the west, then another Supply Drop Zone.

Build an extra Avenger to help aid in air attacks that will be coming. Build an eight turret toward the west, moving your Missile Defenders further west to protect it.

If you are out of supplies by now, have the Supply Choppers move to the smaller supply piles in the area. They may be lost in transit, unfortunately.

Build a third Supply Drop Zone.

Now it’s time to start building your Particle Cannons. Build two of them in a safe area, possibly to the west, since this area is protected by your Laser Turrets.

By now, the Chinese will be building a Nuclear Missile. Destroy it with a combination of A10 Missile Strikes and a Particle Cannon blast.

Build as many Particle Cannons as you feel necessary to destroy the dozers.

Keep building Laser Turrets to the west to protect them, using the same strategy to protect your flank with the Missile Defenders. Add a third Pathfinder to the western flank to deal with infantry.

You will need two Particle Cannons to destroy the Command Center, plus a combination of further Particle Cannons, A10 Missile Strike and Spectre Gunship to destroy the bulldozers. (The airplane carrying the Fuel Air Bomb is a bit slow and may get destroyed in transit.) It is possible to destroy the dozer that is parked by the Command Center and the Command Center itself with a pair of Particle Cannon blasts.

Use the Intelligence command to expose the entire map. Use the Spy Satellite command if you need more time. Find the position of the three dozers and destroy them, along with the Command Center.

It is best to save your game before trying to do this, in case one of the dozers slips away somehow.

After this, destroy the War Factories, Airfields and other targets of opportunity. Without their ability to rebuild, you can methodically destroy the rest of the Chinese forces.

Mission accomplished!