Zero Hour – Superweapon General vs. Air Force General

Yes -- This mission is beatable on the hard level. This contributor was beginning to think it was simply not possible, but the right combination of defenses can beat the brutal air assault that begins this mission.

As inferred above, this mission is much more difficult than when the Laser General battled on this same map. The EMP Patriots are powerful against aircraft, but evidently not quite as effective as the Laser Turrets.

Another reason this mission was more difficult is that the Patriots are not nearly as effective against infantry. Since there is an infantry drop at the very beginning of the attack, inadequate defenses against them will doom the mission from the start.

It is necessary to build a Weapons Factory (2000 credits) plus at least one Hummer to fight them off. This is very distracting, as it is essential to build a large Patriot contingent immediately.

Important: It is necessary to build the Patriots in the proper configuration to survive the assault. If they are spread out too far, the east and west flanks will be picked off one at a time. If they are bunched up too much, the Cluster Bomb attack will destroy multiple units.

The basic configuration is a straight line of five Patriots parallel and fairly close to the waterfront, with the east and west flanks covered with two additional Patriots sloping down further toward your base – kind of like a very thin "C" or "[" configuration.

An additional strategy that made surviving the first assault possible is building three or four Missile Defenders and placing them separately in the small buildings near the river. The aerial assaults directed at these buildings will take a lot of pressure off of your Patriots.

Key Strategies

• The key strategy is listed above. Build seven EMP Patriots before the first aerial assault near the waterfront in conjunction with three or four Missile Defenders in the small buildings near the river. Curve the last Patriots on the east and west downward and somewhat close to the previous Patriots to create a stronger flanking position.
• Upgrade your Reactors for extra power.
• Build an extra Supply Helicopter immediately upon complete of your Supply Center. Immediately research the Capture command at the Barracks and build two Rangers – one to capture the oil derrick right by your base and one to capture the one further to the west. The western oil derrick will be destroyed in the first strike, but you need the credits you are able to generate before then to prepare for the first aerial assault.
• Build a Weapons Factory and build at least one Hummer upgraded with a Battle Drone before the first aerial assault to destroy paratroopers dropped onto your base.

Walkthrough

Time is of the essence. This sequence should be performed without interruption.

Build a Reactor next to your Command Center. Create a second dozer while this is building. Build a Barracks with the second dozer close to the oil derrick.

Upgrade the Reactor and start building a Supply Center by the Supply Dock. Try to not let the Barracks and Supply Center overlap each other so that the Carpet Bomber can take out both of these buildings on one bombing run.

Without any downtime, start researching Capture at the Barracks when it is completed and queue up two Rangers. Build an extra Chinook supply helicopter immediately. Have the first Ranger capture the nearest oil derrick, while sending the second Ranger to capture the derrick further to the west.

Start building two Patriots fairly near the waterfront and parallel with it pretty much centered with your base. You can do this while you are still researching the Capture command.

Build another Reactor, upgrade it, and build your third, fourth and fifth Patriots parallel with the other two along the riverfront.

Start building four Missile Defenders and send them toward the small buildings near the river. Have each one occupy a separate structure.

Build the sixth and seventh Patriots sloping back further away from the river toward your base, but close enough to create a stronger flank, with the two "end" Patriots working in unison for attacks coming towards the sides of your base.

Build a War Factory, and a Hummer immediately afterwards. You are really cutting it close. Upgrade it with a Battle Drone and load one or two of the Rangers inside of it, if you get the chance. If you have time, create two Hummers. You may want to create the War Factory a bit sooner in the building process if it is cutting it too close.

You should survive in fairly good shape. Replace whatever buildings are lost, especially Patriots or Reactors. Make sure you have more Reactors than you need in case some are destroyed.

Try to add another Patriot or two to the mix. You will lose plenty of them. Just keep replacing them as necessary.

As soon as possible, start building a Strategy Center and a couple of Supply Drop Zones.

Eventually start building Particle Cannons. A single Particle Cannon blast can take out two Airfields.

By now the tides have turned in your favor. Keep destroying the base at your leisure.

Mission accomplished!