OpenRA online multiplayer guide (Red Alert)

Introduction

OpenRA is often called a "simple RTS" when compared to games like StarCraft or Warcraft. However, this description applies exclusively to seasoned players of those games! If you are new, or used to play the original back in 1995, RA is far from simple. Some players think they can "figure things out on their own", looking down at those who simply "follow the meta" instead of devising their own playstyle. While this is certainly possible (e.g. Despro), it is only because they have a strong RTS background and a good understanding of economy, unit control, and positioning. Thus, it is best to build up a solid intuition for the game first before experimenting.

Much of the content here is adapted from the quasi-official OpenRA Academy.

Preliminaries

Structure/unit abbreviations

Structures

• Com Centre: Communications Centre
• Chrono: Chronosphere
• FC: Forward Command Centre
• Gap: Gap Generator
• IC: Iron Curtain
• Pill: Pillbox
• PP: Powerplant
• Radar/Dome: Radar Dome [Tier 2]
• RAX: Barracks
• REF: Ore Refinery
• SD: Service Depot [Tier 1.5]
• TC: Tech Centre [Tier 3]
• Tesla: Tesla Coil
• WF: War Factory

Units

• Arty: Artillery
• CTank: Chrono Tank
• Demo: Demo Truck
• Engi: Engineer
• Flak (Truck): Mobile Flak
• Flamer: Flamethrower
• Gren: Grenadier
• Harv: Harvester/Ore Truck
• HT/heavy: Heavy Tank
• LT: Light Tank
• MGG: Mobile Gap Generator
• MRJ: Mobile Radar Jammer
• MT: Medium Tank
• Shocky: Shock Trooper
• TTank: Tesla Tank
• V2: V2 rocket launcher 😂

UI mechanics

keyboard shortcut syntax

Since we will be discussing hotkeys quite a bit, here is some notation:

• <uppercase letter> denotes a single letter keypress
• <C-X> = ctrl+<X>
• <M-X> = alt+<X>
• <S-X> = shift+<X>
• <left/mid/right> = left/middle/right-click
• <X Y> = <X> followed by <Y>

Shortcuts involving clicking may vary depending on whether you have selected the classic or modern control scheme, with the latter being the default and recommended choice. We will be assuming the use of the modern control scheme from here.

Unit queuing

In the build palette on the right, there are a few production categories:

• <E> Buildings
• <R> Defense
• <T> Infantry
• <Y> Vehicles
• <U> Aircraft
• <I> Naval

Use hotkeys to switch between these categories quickly. When construction is complete for either buildings or defences, the corresponding key automatically selects them for placement. This greatly quickens the rate at which you build your base.

• <S-left> queues 5 units at a time.
• <C-left> adds a unit to the front of the queue.
• <mid> cancels a unit production queue without pausing production; likewise, <S-mid> cancels 5 units.
• <right> pauses a unit production queue.
• <C-mid> cancels an entire queue.

Unit control

When units are selected, you can control them as follows:

• <right> moves them to a location. Units will ignore all enemy units and take the shortest path to their destination.
• <A right> to attack-move them to a location. Units will move to their destination but will stop and attack enemy units en route. In general, never simply move your units; always use attack-move, or else you will have the nasty surprise of watching your entire blob being massacred without your units fighting back.
• <C-A right> to assault-move. Attacks buildings as well as attack moving. Useful for clearing unguarded bases or expansions.
• Holding 'shift' allows for queuing unit commands, such as movement and attack orders.
• <C> (or clicking on the repair wrench in the top right) then <left> on a vehicle will send it to the service depot for repairs. As for buildings, they will gradually self-repair until they reach full health.

On macro and micro

An RTS such as Red Alert can be split into two sections: macro and micro. In essence, macro focuses on managing economy and production, while micro is about how individual units are used. It is essential to be proficient in both; without good micro, all your units will be thrown at the enemy and wasted. Without good macro, you will not have any units to begin with.

Macro

For macro, you want to ensure you never run out of cash, but "floating" (i.e. having lots of cash—perhaps >$4000) for long periods of time is not good either. It's hard to present any numerical recommendations here, but "you'll get used to it" is the best advice. Exact calculations are available. here and here, courtesy of SoScared. Reading them is not really neccesary.

The amount of ore on an ore patch matters. On a "dry" mine, harvesters spend a lot of time waiting for ore regrowth, leading to less efficient mining. One truck per dry mine. Full, "juicy" mines can support two harvesters per ore mine. Common beginner mistakes include not transferring harvesters to a new expansion, and not building refineries as close as possible to ore patches: every tick spent travelling is a tick not spent harvesting ore.

Micro

Units in OpenRA are simple-minded creatures: unless told otherwise they will not move, firing blindly on the nearest enemy unit. Therefore it is the job of the commander to aid units in overcoming these base instincts and make use of them to their full effectiveness: tanks can be commanded to go forth and crush enemy infantry, artillery (and especially V2s) to target the centre of mass, and pillboxes ordered to prioritise expensive rocket soldiers.

However, it should be noted that these tactics require extensive clicking. As a new player, you should not focus too much on micro. Macro alone can be overwhelming to a player new to RTS. Macro should be prioritised first, as it lays down the foundation for the game. While a smaller army can win in the face of a larger but poorly microed force, exceptional skill, far beyond the grasp of a novice, is required to do so. For this reason, many micro tips will only be mentioned later on in this guide.

Basic build orders

Double-refinery opening

Also known as the 2ref BO, this opening, in the words of Happy, "allows an early army to be produced to pressure early on. [It allows you to] gain oil derricks, maintain map control, poke at enemy bases, or sit at base and make sure you won't lose to any cheese." Being the most "flexible" and safe build order, it has also become the most popular in the 1v1 scene. However, this dominance has led some, albeit ignorantly, to believe that it is the only build order practiced by competitive players.

• The basic build order is: PP-RAX-REF-REF-PP-WF-REF-SD-PP-RAX-RAX-REF.
• As soon as the barracks is placed, you can build $2200 worth of infantry, that is 18 rifles and an engineer. Rocket soldiers are useless at this stage of the game as there are no tanks out yet.
• After placement of the second refinery, you can build another $1600-2000 of infantry, e.g. 7 rifles and 3/4 rockets. Allied players can also build a medic.
• As soon as the war factory comes online, build a single light vehicle (ranger/LT/flak/APC), followed by two harvesters.
• When the first harvester comes out, start queuing mass infantry non-stop. A ratio of 10:5 (2:1) rifles to rockets is recommended.
• As soon as the second harvester is fresh out of the WF, the SD should also be ready for placement at 03:40. After placing it build an MCV (it should be ready at 04:20) and unlimited medium/heavy tanks.

Kaution has made a useful tutorial on this build.