DPM is Damage Per Mass unit, calculated by taking the listed damage of a turret at a given tier and dividing it by the total cost to get to that tier, ex. 100 damage for a 10 mass tower is 10DPM, and that same tower upgraded to 1000 damage for 90 mass would be 1000/(90+10)=1000/100=10DPM. This was done in order to track total damage per overall mass spent. In English: higher DPM is better. Towers are listed as following:

Name [damage type]
Range: (tier 1(default)/tier 2/tier 3)
DPM: (tier 1(default)/tier 2/tier 3)
Effect: (tier 1(default)/tier 2/tier 3)

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Cannon [piercing]
Range: 55/60/65
DPM: 4.60/4.21/4.03
Effect: N/A

Information: Fires three-shot bursts. Has good range. Hits air and ground. Mediocre damage and DPM, but versatility and range ensure it stays useful - jack of all trades, master of none.

Machine Gun [piercing]
Range: 48/53/58
DPM: 5.90/5.18/4.61
Effect: N/A

Information: Slowish turret turn speed, but constant fire without reload once it starts; turning does not interrupt firing if already shooting. Cone AoE along torrent of lead - surprisingly large, but requires enemies to be bunched up to do much. DOES NOT hit air.

Shotgun [piercing]
Range: 32/36/40
8.30/6.77/4.04
Effect: N/A

Information: Horrifyingly efficient DPM without upgrades - very strong contender for earlygame "stopgap" defenses. Poor range means abusing curves is necessary to get much use out of 8stacks. Only about as much DPM as a cannon after final upgrade

Railgun [piercing]
Range: 100/110/120
DPM: 4.12/3.41/3.24
Effect: Ignores shields

Information: Impressive range to counteract mediocre damage and underwhelming effect; unless your defense is primarily/entirely railguns, or you set up a nest of railguns far ahead of your primary defense location(s), not really a good tower. Sort of okay against Gunships if you REALLY hate turbulence towers and flak, I suppose.

Lightning Bolt [electrical]
Range: 100/110/120
DPM: 3.80/3.49/3.29
Effect: 50/55/60% slow

Information: Impressive range but mediocre damage. Really more of a utility tower than primary defense; the slow gets pretty high by max upgrade so this can be situationally useful against high-value targets.

Laser [heat]
Range: 45/55/65
DPM: 7.40/6.24/5.41
Effect: N/A

Information: Among the highest DPM values at final upgrade, and very solid until then. Extremely effective target/retarget; very little wasted time. Instantaneous damage. Very strong against most problem enemies.

Missile [concussive]
Range: 70/80/90
DPM: 3.00/2.98/4.41
Effect: Small % per hit of ~3 second, 20% slow.

Information: Minor aoe; listed DPM deceptively low. Very small chance of a "stun." Long travel time. Wasted shots on dead enemies. That said, missiles are extremely versatile, have excellent range, and can BE a defense line in themselves if you have enough. Synergizes well with slowing towers.

Drone [concussive]
Range: 40/45/50
DPM: 6.92/5.72/5.45
Effect: See information

Information: Range deceptively low; they can and will follow enemies across the map once they lock on. Best used well before primary defenses to whittle enemies down and stunt shield recharge. Among the highest final upgrade DPM values, but takes time for full effect and DPM hampered by drone travel time.

Tesla Coil [electrical]
Range: 16/19/22
DPM: 4.20/3.14/2.83
Effect: 25/30/35% slow

Information: Damages ALL enemies in range; does not need to track and does full damage all the way to both ends of range. Single highest DPM tower in the game if used intelligently at chokepoints to thin out hordes, and nothing resists electrical damage so it works great on probes. Best used on the insides of corners to maximize how long enemies stay inside the field; Tesla Coils already slow, but a maxed Slow Goo turret can keep enemies in the field of murderification even longer.

Flamethrower [heat]
Range: 25/30/35
DPM: 1.73/1.69/1.76
Effect: Damage over time

Information: Mid-size area of effect; DPM deceptively low due to burn/AoE. Not that great against larger foes, but second only to the Tesla Coil in the honorable field of mass genocide.

Radiation [heat]:
Range: 30/35/40
DPM: 4.30/3.33/2.97
Effect: Amplify Damage effect

Information: DOES NOT seem to attack everything in range, rather utilizing a decent-sized invisible area of effect. Damage amplification seems minor, though it apparently stacks - if you use these at all, turn a chokepoint into a radiactive hell.

Pillbox [piercing]
Range: 42/47/52
DPM: 8.87/9.23/8.85
Effect: N/A

Information: Excellent DPS, but splits evenly between all enemies in range. Doesn't seem to make any use of clumped-together enemies. Best used set far enough back that they can focus all fire on high-value enemies who make it through "wave clear" defenses. Putting them up front just turns them into really bad machineguns.

Mortar [concussive]
Range: 110/120/135
DPM: 2.40/2.21/2.01
Effect: N/A

Information: Minor area of effect. Poor targeting, but tracks fairly well. Synergizes EXTREMELY well with Slow Goo or equivalent - being able to hit larger groups multiplies its damage beautifully.

Napalm Silo [heat]
Range: 240
DPM: 1.38

Information: Colossal area of effect, and it can hit pretty much anything on most maps. Extremely low refire rate and massive projectile travel time limits use, but synergizes well with Slow Goo/etc for hitting entire waves at once.

Shrapnel Silo [piercing]
Range: 240
DPM: 1.38

Information: Colossal area of effect, and it can hit pretty much anything on most maps. Extremely low refire rate and massive projectile travel time limits use, but synergizes well with Slow Goo/etc for hitting entire waves at once.

Shockwave Silo [concussive]
Range: 240
DPM: 1.38

Information: Colossal area of effect, and it can hit pretty much anything on most maps. Extremely low refire rate and massive projectile travel time limits use, but synergizes well with Slow Goo/etc for hitting entire waves at once.

AA Flak [piercing]
Range: 65/75/85
DMP: 8.70/9.08/9.11
Effect: N/A.

Information: Easily the most cost-effective tower, but limited to (surprise surprise) anti-air duties. Note that Piercing damage is particularly effective against Gunships, Orcas and Helicopters, but not as great against Raveners, Moths, or Roaches - Lasers are actually a pretty good stand-in on many early maps where Roaches and Moths are the only real aerial threats.

Slow Goo [utility]:
Range: 30/35/40
DPM: 1.36/0.83/1.13
Effect: 25/40/55%

Information: Apparently has somewhat lesser effect on cybernetic/mechanical enemies, but is still your most reliable aoe slow on the ground. Constant slow rather than burst a la EMP; best used on the inside of corners.

EMP [utility]
Range: 30/32/34
DPM: 7.64/6.00/5.68
Effect: 35/42/50% slow

Information: ONLY DAMAGES SHIELDS - will only apply the slowing effect to unshielded enemies. Fires three-round bursts with noticeable reload time; essentially a Slow Goo for mechanical/cybernetic enemies. Damage, due to only applying to shields, is fairly useless - chokepoint defenses already usually take those down pretty quickly. Still a good idea to have one around.

Turbulence [utility]
Range: 33/38/43
DPM: 4.96/3.81/3.76
Effect: 35/45/55% slow

Information: Essentially a Slow Goo for aerial enemies, but with better damage scaling. Range is fairly underwhelming, but these things are your best defense against Gunships so it's good to have a few around.

Biological
Behemoks are the biological boss enemy; they regenerate health while outside of combat, drop larva when killed, and protect nearby enemies. They are best killed by massed tier3 Lasers and Focus Fire. Tesla Coils, or better yet Flamethrowers, are excellent to clean up their Larvae, who have unusually high HP.

Felines are invisible... feline... creatures who speed up significantly when detected by Flares or an Inhibitor. They have surprisingly high durability if you aren't ready for them - focused Lasers are your best bet, though any high-damage single-target-focused tower will eventually kill them given enough time. STRONGLY consider Slow Goo turrets to counteract their speed boost; if you aren't using Lasers they can be very difficult to kill, especially among larger waves.

Roaches may not look like much but they're surprisingly durable, and their tendency to alternate between ground and air can cause serious trouble early on. Flak will kill them reasonably well with an upgrade, but Lasers are overall better due to being able to hit them regardless of flying/walking - Flak turrets get really confused during ground/air transitions and sometimes "forget" to fire for a while even after the Roach takes off.

Rhinos are sort of like Behemoks, except pretty much harmless. So actually not at all like Behemoks. Still, they have a lot of hp and can shield nearby enemies, so as usual Lasers are your best bet.

Battle Slugs are pretty harmless outside of a decent hp pool and regen; Lasers are your best bet for these guys, but really most stuff will work as long as you have decent focus fire.

Ramtors are completely harmless if you're paying attention and use area of effect turrets - Tesla Coils are an extremely effective counter, and Flamethrowers are good too. Once they're slowed down, they're pretty much guaranteed to die to your normal defenses.

Moths are basically a test to see if you remembered to build flak or Lasers. If you have upgraded Lasers/flak, they are harmless; if not, they will casually stroll past your defenses.



Cybernetic
Raveners are the cybernetic boss enemy; they are permanently cloaked unless being actively revealed, speed up when revealed, fly, and seem at least somewhat resistant to Turbulence Towers. Missiles do Concussive damage and can help slow, Drones are okay, and Flak is always a good bet against aerial enemies. Turbulence Towers slow them as well, even if it doesn't seem to be at full strength.

Phasers move by short teleports that throw off tower targeting pretty badly; even most constant-fire towers seem to have trouble with them. I find that Lasers are the most effective solution, but EMP turrets are extremely useful for the slow and Drones can help whittle them down along the way to your base.

Harvesters have a large hp pool and the obnoxious ability to split into 5 larvae upon death. Missiles are actually the best overall option; they do great damage to Harvesters, and the shots that would usually be wasted on target death instead instantly wipe out the Larvae. Otherwise, strong single target towers take care of the Harvester itself fairly well, but be sure to keep an upgraded Flamethrower or Tesla Coil at the back of your killbox to take care of the creeping little monsters.

Hoverbikes are either among the most obnoxious enemies in the game or fairly harmless depending on how well you are prepared for them. They move quickly, have good hp pools, and come in good-sized waves; even the odds by using an Inhibitor, which temporarily removes their speed boost, and using EMP turrets to slow them down enough for your defenses to kill. Drones are good, as are lasers, but really anything with good single-target damage will clean them up fairly well once they're slowed.

Tripods are fairly tame, but have a high enough combined hp/shield pool to be a threat if you're not ready for them. Gun turrets don't seem to be very effective, nor do area of effect towers; Lasers are a reliable standby, and Drones are as usual good for softening them up.

Fungus are fun guys who are taken care of extremely efficiently by either Flamethrowers or Tesla Coils; Napalm Silos do massive damage as well, though I'd be hard pressed to actually recommend Napalm Silos for such a petty reason. These guys are only rough if you're pretty much all single-target turrets.

Mechanical
Zorast assault vehicles are very possibly the single most difficult enemy in the game; their combined hp/shield pools border on the obscene, they move obnoxiously quickly despite their bulk, and their massive shield banks recharge quickly between skirmishes. You pretty much need a strong chokepoint/killbox for these things - piercing damage is ostensibly effective, but no matter what you use it'll take some time. Be sure to use EMP turrets to counteract their speed boost and slow them down to a reasonable pace. Missiles get an honorary mention for being able to pound on the Zorast for longer than most single-target damage turrets as well as the mini-slow.

Battle Tanks are basically downgraded Zorasts, and are killed the same way. They're slower by default, but EMP turret them anyways and let loose. Anything with Piercing damage will do a decent job of it, but I like Shotguns for the ability to make sure they're firing at only the Zorast rather than randomly switching targets to something 50 units away halfway through.

Gunships don't have particularly large hp/shield totals, but move deceptively quickly and are immune to EMP turrets. Counter them with Turbulence Towers and lots of Flak - they get a damage bonus to mechanical units (aka Gunships).

Orcas are countered exactly one way: Inhibitor/Flare, and then have enough Flak to shoot them down. Non-AA towers have serious difficulty keeping up with their speed and durability once they start coming in large waves, especially mixed in with other enemy types.

Helicopters: use Flak. Really that's all there is to say; upgraded Flak turrets kill them quickly.

Hover Tanks can be somewhat difficult early on, due to their large HP pool and tendency to cover damage for nearby enemies, but Shotguns and other piercing damage take them out pretty well. EMP cannons are excellent for slowing them down. If you're having too much trouble, consider using Cannons instead and arraying them to be able to cover as much of the tank's path as possible - usually on the inside of a large curve or something like that.

Bipeds and Hover Scouts are really pretty much harmless if you're not asleep on your keyboard, but anything area of effect butchers them. Tesla Coils do a fair bit better against Bipeds than Flamethrowers due to the shields.

• Each damage type is strong against one enemy type, neutral to another, and has reduced effect to a third. Learn which is which, and abuse this when planning layouts; Lasers and Flamethrowers are common Heat damage sources, Cannons, Shotguns, and Flak AA especially do good Piercing, and Drones/Missiles are your best Concussive options.
  
  Piercing: +mech -cyber
  Heat: +bio -mech
  Concussive: +cyber -bio
  
  
• Consider at the start of each map how you want to lay out your defenses; some maps lend themselves better to attrition, but most work better with defense-in-depth and/or "kill boxes" at chokepoints. Where will you place your Tesla Coils/Flamethrowers? Are there any curves in the path that lend themselves especially well to chokepoints? Is the road too wide for Tesla Coils to be very effective? Will your killbox turrets get sidetracked and start attacking enemies on another path? Even if you don't have the money to put them down, start thinking about what you plan to eventually put down, and where, as soon as possible.
  
  
• Defense in depth basically translates to using Tesla Coils (or equivalent) at chokepoints further up the map to clear out/weaken enemies, then using a clump of towers (or even multiple clumps) further back to deal with tougher enemies that get through; this is not particularly effective against shielded enemies unless you utilize drones at the forward posts to keep shields from recharging. If possible, you want to have your single-target turrets far enough back that they WILL NOT fire until enemies get past the initial chokepoint; this ensures that you aren't wasting ammo on weak enemies when half a dozen Zorasts are cruising on through your defenses.
  
  
• Kill boxes are basically layering as much area of effect damage/CC as possible into one chokepoint to ensure that nothing gets through alive; these are EXCELLENT places to use boosters. Utilize Slow Goo/Turbulence/Tesla Coils/EMP to slow and disorient enemies entering the chokepoint, and keep them there as long as possible.
  
  
• Most commonly, the safest choice is defense in depth followed by a proper killbox closer to the colonies; HOW close depends on map layout, but consider that shields recharge quickly when not under attack, so don't expect Tesla Coils alone to do much to a Zorast or Battle Tank.
  
  
• When possible, make use of the insides of curves rather than their outsides, or worse, straightways. This is critically important for short-range turrets - Tesla Coils in particular are borderline worthless unless they can cover most/all of the enemy's path and mediocre unless they can cover a significant distance of it, but Flamethrower and Shotguns are also very reliant on intelligent use of terrain. Consider upgrading Tesla Coils/Flamethrowers ASAP for additional range, as well as the damage boost; on Normal difficulty a single upgraded Tesla Coil can easily solo much of the first campaign, and a well-placed Tesla Coil can often solo or at least severely weaken the first several waves of most maps, leaving you extra time to set up proper defenses.
  
  
• Boosters are extremely powerful, and are well worth building defenses around rather than vice versa. The attack speed booster is the most versatile of the set; range booster is only good for towers that you WANT to be able to hit further away, which is not something you generally want in a carefully planned chokepoint/killbox, and crit boosters work very poorly with constant damage turrets like Lasers and Machine Guns. Using 3x3 squares of turrets, with a booster in the middle, maximizes their usefulness; I refer to them as MURDERCUBES. Arbitrary capitalization is optional.
  
  
• HOW you form murdercubes will vary significantly based on the layout of the map, the enemies to deal with, and which booster you have access to. I personally like a Speed booster with three shotguns at the edge of the path, four lasers behind them (two on each side), and a Flak cannon in the rear middle; when upgraded diligently this setup can cover most waves fairly well with Tesla Coil support earlier on the path, and a Slow Goo/EMP cannon combo across the road from the murdercube to keep enemies there as long as possible. Your mileage may vary, and different commanding officers (...obviously) have different available towers.

Here we'll look at the various premade commanders; their strengths, their weaknesses, and how choosing them will alter how you build.

Gus MacAllum
Turrets: Flamethrower, Cannon, Shotgun, Machine Gun, Pillbox, Anti-Air Flak, Mortar
Support: Laser, Focus Fire, Flares, Fire Bomb, Artillery, Gas, Disable

Overview As is pretty obvious at first glance through his list of options, Gus has access to absolutely no utility turrets, and nearly all of his turrets are Piercing type - he has only Flamethrowers for Biological enemies, and Mortars are as far as he goes Concussively speaking. This is not a good spread of options - lategame Raveners are make-or-break for defenses and he has absolutely nothing that can even hit them super effectively, with half of his turrets not even able to hit them at all. He does a bit better against stuff like Gunships (Cannon/Shotgun/Flak turrets), but is always going to struggle against most of the more difficult enemy types; Raveners, Hoverbikes, Roaches, Moths, etc. A minor saving grace is that most shielded enemies are Mechanical, and he rips Mechanical enemies apart, so at least he isn't totally screwed over against shields.

Support options are a bit better off, with plenty of slows and some decent damage option - Fire Bomb is a long-standing favorite of mine. Focus Fire is your best bet for taking out single high-value targets, more important on Gus than any other commander given his total lack of alternate options for doing so, and Disable is a fantastic - albeit expensive and on a long cooldown - option for stopping groups of enemies inside murdercube range. You may need to be more proactive with support than most commanders, using Gas when possible to soften up waves of biological/cybernetic enemiesfor your turrets and calling in Fire Bombs on groups of enemies that appear to be/already have broken through.

To be blunt - Gus is a fairly bad commander to solo with due to his atrocious support/booster turret options. His inability to deal with some of the more difficult enemy types leaves him severely handicapped in later maps, when you may have multiple Raveners hitting your defenses at once. He has his strengths, and can deal with Zorasts better than many commanders, but Flamethrowers are not particularly strong against larger Biological enemies and he really doesn't have any good non-Piercing direct damage options.

Tactics
Gus has very strong area of effect damage; between Pillboxes, Shotguns, Machine Guns, Mortars, and Flamethrowers, he can actually deal with bunched up enemies very effectively even without strong crowd control effects. Consider emphasizing more of a defense in depth - he benefits greatly from bleeding enemies with Flamethrowers along the path before funneling enemies into a storm of lead. You may benefit from adding in a piercing turret or two near the start of the path to break shields to optimize flamethrower damage, and Mortars spread along the path will help keep shields down and flamethrower burns going nicely. Machineguns/Shotguns put out a ton of damage, so don't rely on mortars bombarding your murdercube to have great accuracy - individual enemies will die too fast for them to do much good.

Multiplayer
Gus pairs fantastically well with commanders who have boosters and/or utility towers; Critical Boosters can amp his damage up to astronomical levels, while Slow Goo Turrets or Tesla Coils placed well can keep enemies still while you feed them a dose of 9mm aspirin. He doesn't bring much to the table outside of damage, but more damage isn't exactly a bad thing when it comes to coop's tougher enemies, and with an ally that can cover his weaknesses he can shine against anything Mechanical.


Dr. Elliot Markham
Turrets: Laser, Shrapnel Silo, Lightning Bolt, Tesla Coil, EMP, Speed Booster, Inhibitor
Support: Laser, Focus Fire, Drones, Execute, Disable, Tornado, Fury

Overview The good doctor has nearly the exact opposite issue of Gus MacAllum; he has almost too much utility, with a dearth of good direct-damage turrets. However, he has a wider array of options for dealing with enemies than might appear at first glance - Tesla Coils do neutral damage to every enemy type, so good placement of your coils will determine how well you can whittle down imposing enemy forces into chowder for imposing Laser arrays. Markham absolutely rips apart anything biological, from Roaches to Behemoks; Lasers are extremely strong multi-purpose turrets that benefit very strongly from his Speed Boosters - the only canon commander to come loaded wth Speed Boosters, as a side note, so be sure to abuse them. Mechanical and Cybernetic enemies are a bit rougher on him - he doesn't have any direct-fire stuff that can do much to them, and Shrapnel Silos are expensive and inconsistent. On the bright side, he has about five million ways to slow enemies to a stop, which is nice!

His support options are a bit schizophrenic; Disable is only somehat useful when he already has that many powerful slows, and Execute is bloody terrible period. Tornado gives him some degree of coverage against aerial enemy units, something he is otherwise severely lacking in, and Drones are just nice fire-and-forget Piercing damage that can hit air and ground - which really helps against Gunships, Zorasts, and everything else mechanical and tough that the doctor is otherwise worthless against.

All things considered, he has a pretty good variety of abilities and what is arguably the best damage booster in the game, but makes up for those strengths with atrocious direct-damage options and very little real type coverage - he needs to use Drones to really do much against Mechanical enemies, since Shrapnel Silos are more AoE than proper single target, and doesn't have any Concussive damage options whatsoever to deal with ever-annoying Raveners and Hoverbikes.

Tactics
Markham has a LOT of slow options, but not much in the wise of reliable/consistent damage. While Lightning Turrets are a bit low on damage they have fantastic range and slow, and can really help slow down a tougher enemy so other turrets can pound on them - they also help bunch enemies up for Shrapnel Silo strikes. Tesla Coils on the inside of high-traffic corners can do a lot to weaken enemies that reach your murdercubes, and Speed Boosters allow you to build truly terrifying arrays of Lasers that will carve through anything Biological with trivial ease and scythe through weakened enemies of other types. EMP turrets can be very useful at the opening of a murdercube to strip off shields and let your lasers get to work, and Inhibitors are pretty self-explanatory but extremely useful; they make Hoverbikes a little less painful for him to deal with.

Multiplayer
Everyone likes Speed Boosters. EVERYONE. That alone makes him great in multiplayer, but his fantastic array of slows let him contribute significantly across vast swathes of the map due to great Lightning Tower range and Shrapnel Silos covering the majority of most maps. His lack of Piercing and Concussive damage, or area of effect Heat damage for that matter, means that he is best paired with someone who can handle those - ironically(?) he actually pairs pretty well with Gus, though neither of them can really deal with Raveners so it's a passable pairing at best.

Ignacio Carzola
Turrets: Flamethrower, Cannon, Machine Gun, Anti-Air Flak, Missile, Mortar, Slow Goo
Support: Laser, Focus Fire, Flares, Fire Bomb, Nuke, Fear, Overdrive

Overview
Aside from looking like a grotesque monster from beyond the depths of man's darkest fears - or maybe it's just the perspective - Ignacio has a wide variety of offensive turrets, focusing on YOU GUESSED IT fire and explosions. As if the IGNACIO part of his name and all the fire in his portrait didn't hint at a little pyromania. While he's lacking in boosters, he does at least have slowing turrets, and an excellent spread of damage types - Machineguns rip apart mech on the ground, while Flak and backup Cannons do the same for the air. Missile Turrets are arguably the best overall Concussive turret and also help back up his anti-air, while Flamethrowers absolutely shred most smaller ground bio enemies - but he HEAVILY lacks the anti-air and focus damage capability of Lasers. So ironically, the biological/flame warfare guy kinda sucks at it.

Support options are, honestly, pretty good. Overdrive is (imo) the best damage support in the game, Fire Bomb is my favorite support in the game flat out and can solve many waves that you'd otherwise leak, and Fear is incredibly powerful. Focus Fire actually isn't that useful for him since he has so much AOE but is occasionally a lifesaver. Nukes are generally far too expensive to be worth using unfortunately.

As a whole, I think he's one of the best premade commanders; he has fantastic damage options for 2/3 of enemy types and does OK against the third, with great support options going for him to boot. He does absolutely suffer from a lack of boosters and a lack of Lasers - if he dropped Mortars for either of those I think he'd be THE best commander - but otherwise he is both thematic and powerful with a great amount of versatility.

Tactics
Ignacio SHINES at pure area of effect damage - he can pummel a chokepoint with all three types of damage very efficiently with a combination of flamethrowers, machineguns, and missile turrets all doing excellent AOE or at least splash damage. This strategy does leave him with limited anti air options... but hey, AOE flak turrets and missiles help!

Since he has no EMP, you'll generally want to place flamethrowers and slow turrets right at the front and back of your Murdercube(tm), ideally with the machineguns opening up to strip shields so the flamethrower doesn't waste too much time on them, and missile turrets somewhere nearby to pummel enemies in the box as well. He REALLY benefits from setting up tight chokepoints where you can squish the entire wave into the small AOE of machineguns, so try to make use of curves even more than most commanders.

I generally use Overdrive every wave to buff whichever turrets will be most useful that wave, but judicious use of fire bomb will help deal with waves you weren't prepared for. Don't be afraid to use support, but try to keep a leash on the more expensive options.

Multiplayer
As with any non-booster commander, you want a buddy who can drop some boosters. Machinegun nests and flak get a LOT of value from any of the booster types. You also want someone with Lasers to actually deal with scary biological stuff; Elliot does the job quite nicely, which is either super ironic or super fitting considering they unlock together.


William Brentford
Turrets: Laser, Shotgun, Missile, Lightning Bolt, Slow Goo, Turbulence, Range Booster
Support: Laser, Focus Fire, Flares, Artillery, EMP, Disable, Fury

Overview
Borg bro has a weird mix of amazing and... questionable turrets; Lasers and Missiles are MVP while Shotguns are very solid, and no one ever said no to Slow Goo or Turbulence - but Lightning Bolt is pretty ineffective and Range Boosters aren't even worth building in *most* situations. So you have a few duds that could really have been replaced with a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Inhibitor to save my flare finger, but eh, still a pretty good setup overall. Shotguns hit ground and air alike so despite their short range he can handle anything on the ground or in the air fairly effectively - and may be the one tower he has that is actually worth range boosting as a result.

His support is honestly pretty crap in general, Artillery is terrible and Fury is generally Bad Overdrive. Same as Ignacio you should probably use Fury each wave anyways though, free damage. EMP and Disable have their uses at least, EMP in particular helps soften up shielded waves so your already-overworked shotguns can get to work on their HP pools and is likely the other main use of your energy. Disable is situational but can be very strong.

I really like most of his turret options and he loses Ignacio's crippling weakness to heavy bio/bio air, but also loses some of the AOE and has a few dud turrets that hold him back. Still one of the better premades, he can handle most situations very effectively, but unlike some commanders he doesn't have the "oh crap" button to instagib half a wave that just slipped through; his best supports need to be used preemptively.

Tactics
As with anyone with Slow Goo, you want to make a killbox for your Murdercube(tm). Shotgun and Missile AOE damage help a lot to delete clumped up waves, with Lasers doing fantastic focus damage. I like putting the shotguns further forward to shred shields and AOE stuff down, longer-ranged missiles in the back can hit at the same time, and lasers help focus down whatever survives. Range boosts usually aren't necessary, but if you do use them the shotguns are the prime target since they have to do the work of 2+ turrets (machineguns and flak cannons) and can easily get overwhelmed by mixed ground/air waves.

Fury every wave, and judiciously Disable/EMP waves you think are going to be a problem around the time they enter your box - you don't have a great failsafe if stuff gets through.

Multiplayer
William is fairly self sufficient and doesn't desperately need anything in particular, aside from the obvious of Speed boosters but ANYONE who doesn't have them needs them haha. Inhibitors and Flamethrowers are probably the two non-booster turrets he gets the most use from, fixing his lack of detection and lack of biological AOE, but he doesn't NEED them they're just... nice to have. And decent earlygame support wouldn't hurt - Fire Bomb in particular. But in general he'll work alright with pretty much anyone.