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Command & Conquer™: Rivals PVP
Strategy wins in this C&C RTS.
The legendary Command & Conquer is back. And while the battlefield is a little smaller, the competition is bigger than ever.
Command & Conquer: Rivals pits you against online opponents in exhilarating real-time strategy battles. Playing as the GDI or the Brotherhood of Nod, build military units – from lowly Riflemen to mighty Stealth Tanks – and fight for control of a nuclear missile launcher. To win, you’ll need to destroy your opponent’s base.
The fastest way to do that is to blast it with missile strikes. Launching a missile, however, requires that you capture and hold more launch platforms than your opponent. Fighting over these by outmanoeuvring, outthinking and outmatching your enemy is the crux of the game.
So here are our tips to set you on the road to victory.
Take that Tiberium
Mining Tiberium – the energy crystals that you spend to build units – has always been a key part of Command & Conquer games, so build a harvester right away to increase your Tiberium income rate. Cranking out a second harvester is a good idea to improve cash flow, but be prepared for early losses if your opponent spends their initial cash on quick, cheap units.
Feeling sneaky? Send your forces after your enemy’s harvester, especially once you’ve got aircraft at your disposal. Blowing up your opponent’s harvester not only hurts their ability to pump out reinforcements, it gives you extra Tiberium for your own war chest.
Green is good
Every unit in the game is particularly effective against at least one type of opposing force. The Nod’s Flame Troopers can quickly wipe out squads of Riflemen but don’t stand a chance against a GDI Talon chopper. You can determine this rock-paper relationship at a glance during a match: just tap on a unit and vulnerable enemies will have small green crosshairs on their health bars.
Use this intel to ensure skirmishes are tilted in your favour. When you unlock more powerful unit types, attack range will be a critical consideration too – but by that point you'll be a seasoned pro.
Adjust your army
As you score victories, you’ll receive virtual cards that let you recruit new vehicles and soldiers. Change your lineup quickly pre-match by selecting the card icon at the bottom of the screen. Aim for a mix of cheap infantry and vehicles that you can get into the fray quickly, and more expensive, specialized units like the heavily armored Kodiak gunship.
One other cool feature for newbies: Head over to the Armies tab from the Profile screen to get crucial win-rate percentage information about current and former squads. Suddenly losing a bunch? Maybe you shouldn’t have removed those handy Shockwave Troopers three matches ago.
Read the room
Changing tactics on the fly isn’t just a smart way to play Rivals; it’s a necessity. Don’t keep building squishy infantry when your opponent is controlling the platforms with minigun-wielding Wolverines. Instead, crank out units that can make short work of those merciless mechs, like some speedy Pitbull recon vehicles.
Get in the way
Most ground-based units can’t pass through opposing forces, so controlling the battlefield’s choke points is a supremely effective tactic. Use a beefy Predator Tank or a pop-up Minigun Turret to block access to a missile platform, forcing enemies to fight their way through or go the long way around and buying you time to get the nuke airborne.
Pull a switcheroo
When control of the missile launcher changes hands in the heat of battle, the countdown progress bar doesn’t reset – it simply flips to the controlling team’s colour. One devastating tactic is to weaken enemy units parked on the platforms, then rush in and destroy them when the timer gauge is nearly full. A surprise attack when your foe is basking in a false sense of security can turn the tide of a match and, crucially, steal a missile blast from under their nose.