Using Gremlins in Halo Wars

This "combat support" vehicle definitely lives up to its title!

Gremlins are an unique vehicle in Halo Wars that only Professor Anders can use. This little hillbilly van is much more useful than it may seem at first. Using this vehicle properly can allow your troops to easily breeze through anything your opponent throws at you.

Again, only Professor Anders can use Gremlins. Gremlins can be purchased at the center base unit of any base, allowing the player to purchase Gremlins as early as the beginning of a game. At a very low price of 200 resources, they can be produced cheaply and effectively at a pinch.

Gremlins are van-like vehicles that don't really have too much armor. There is a laser turret mount on top of the Gremlin that can target infantry and vehicles. Gremlins have a unique EMP attack that temporarily disables vehicles and turrets. Gremlins are vulnerable to aircraft as they can't defend themselves against them.

A freshly built Gremlin really isn't all that strong, but with Professor Anders' faster technology research rate, upgrading Gremlins isn't difficult. The Gremlin's first upgrade increases the damage output from the Gremlin's laser mount, which is nice. This does significantly more damage on both infantry and vehicles. The second upgrade allow the Gremlin's EMP attack to affect more than one target.

Although really not too strong by itself, it really is a "combat support" vehicle. It's upgraded EMP effect can stop movement and attacks from pretty much any ground vehicle. Here's an example in which Gremlins are extremely useful.

Your opponent sends in three Scorpion tanks, each manned by a Spartan. By properly using a Gremlin, it can disable all three. Say you had three or four Gremlins, you can alternate EMP attacks to keep disabling those tanks. By disabling these tanks, your guys can easily destroy them with ease and no resistance.

Gremlins truly are useful allies to have. They are dangerous enemies for any infantry or vehicle. If aircraft come, you could always use Anders' cryo bomb to easily get rid of them. Their EMP attack can prove to be fatal for any vehicle or turret, and buy precious time for your own guys to attack. And they're cheap. Honestly, these underused vehicles are amazingly dangerous when you actually use them.

Benefits of Building Turrets in Halo Wars

Every station and fortress has four turret spots, yet they are not always used. Have you noticed the turret spots yet?

Turrets, believe it or not, are a vital part of fortifying your base. This article will explain why building turrets in Halo Wars plays a vital role in the success of your games.

At the beginning of the game, turrets are especially useful for scaring off scouts and early infantry attacks. Count how many times you've been caught off guard at the beginning of games and it caused you to lose. Now imagine how much of a difference it would have been to have even one turret there. Exactly.

Although turrets are stationary, they do not take up any population. This means you can have four turrets defending your base without holding back your army size. Extra firepower is always welcomed at the base is it not?

Each turret can individually be upgraded to have damage bonuses on certain troops (e.g. infantry, aircraft). Say you're facing Sergeant Forge, and you know that he'll eventually be throwing Grizzly tanks at you. Making turrets with rail gun attachments can do that little extra damage to help you pull through from that assault. Nevertheless, any turret can combat all types of troops, making it completely capable of defending from any types of attack.

Later in the game, when you should be controlling several bases and have a hefty income, resources should definitely be spent investing on turrets. It might prove to be life-saving, and since it doesn't drain your population, it wouldn't hurt to have some extra firepower.

Lastly, by purchasing one time upgrades at the field armory, you can increase the strength and sustainability of all your turrets. All turrets would be upgraded and all future turrets will automatically be upgraded at the regular cost of a normal turret.

There has been much debate over the process of building turrets. Many complain that it is a drain on resources and are ultimately ineffective. Well, when you consider the reasonable health of a turret and the amount of damage it can dish out, turrets aren't exactly "useless" weapons. Early on however, building just one turret may be sufficient to defend your base. Any more too early would be a drain on precious resources.

They don't need to be micromanaged. When you really consider this, this is actually very useful. Your focus and attention are vital resources when attacking or defending. Spending that focus and time on doing something else results in giving your opponent time to do a little bit more damage. Turrets will shoot at anything, so even if airstrikes are coming in and tanks are blasting away, your turrets will fire to its last round before going down.

Just remember, technically nothing strategically bad happens if you build turrets. Sure it might cost a bit of your resources, but it's always good to have some sort of extra defense.