     ------------===========================================------------
     |/                                                               \|
     |    |=\                         |====                            |
          |  \    /=\   |===  |  |    |   |   /==  =|   /===  =|=\
          |   \  /   \  |  |  |  |    |   |  /      |  /       |  \
          |   |  |   |  |  |  |  |    |   /  |      |  |       |  |
          |   |  |   |  |  /  |  /    |===   |      |  |       |  |
          |   |  |   |  |==   |==     |   \  |===   |  |       |  |
          |   |  |===|  |  \  |  \    |   |  |      |  | ==|   |  |
          |   |  |   |  |  |  |  |    |   |  |      |  |   |   |  |
          |  /   |   |  |  |  |  |    |   |  \      |  \   |   |  |
          |=/    |   |  |  |  |  |    |   |   \==   |   \===   |  |

     |    T   H   E     F   U   T   U   R   E     O   F     W  A  R    |
     |\                                                               /|
     ------------===========================================------------

Dark Reign: The Future Of War
Units & Buildings FAQ v1.30 (Apr 12 2001)
Written by K.Teoh ( k t e o h 8 5 @yahoo.com - no spaces)
For: PC (Windows)

     [This document is best viewed in a maximised Notepad/Wordpad window]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Reign: The Future of War is (c) Activision and (c) Auran.
All other names are (c) of their respective owners.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000-2001, K.Teoh.

This FAQ was written by ME and it took lots of hard work, so don't even think
of plagiarising it (or else!)

DISCLAIMER:
This FAQ is for personal and private use only. It cannot be modified and may 
not be reproduced in any non-electronic form such as CD-ROMs, magazines, books,
etc. You may print it out but you may use it only in your home. Do NOT attempt 
to use it for profitable purposes. Violation of the above statements will
result in your own suffering.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This FAQ may only appear on my website and sites listed below:
http://www.gamefaqs.com (GameFAQs)
http://vgstrategies.about.com (About.com guide to Video Game Strategies)

**If you got this FAQ from somewhere other than the sites listed above, please
report it to me (send me the URL of the site where you got the FAQ from).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Sending Mail

*Send in comments/suggestions, fan mail, or anything associated with this FAQ
to my email address (kteoh85@yahoo.com). Please do not send irrelevant mail,
they will be deleted automatically.

If you're sending me any mail, please make sure you put "(gamename) FAQ" as
the subject (without the quotes). This is to make sure I can get to the mail
as quickly as possible.

If you're submitting whatever info that you think may be helpful, please do
include your name (how you want to be referred as) and email address (optional
but will be helpful). Homepage URL is optional.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I REVISION HISTORY (please also read What's New for brief explanations)

v1.30 (Apr 12 2001)
-Changed contact info
-Minor changes

v1.21 (Mar 03 2000)
-New host (my own site)
-New section (5.0) - Unit Hotkeys

v1.13 (Feb 16 2000)
-New host

v1.12 (Feb 16 2000)
-Added ASCII art title!
-Corrected placement of section 2.4
-Split Common Buildings-Bridges into 3 different entries

v1.00 (Feb 15 2000) 
-First version of this FAQ.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, I'm not the kind suited to doing lengthy walkthroughs so I ended doing
this Units FAQ. Dark Reign has been released for a few years now, and a sequel
is underway. I know some people who have yet to complete the game, and I know
there are players out there who need help.

In the game (and also the helpfile), units info is just a short description,
mainly depicting its story. What I wrote is not that, but more info that you
won't get in the game, like stats and weapon types, effectiveness, etc.

*This FAQ only covers the original game, not the expansion pack (maybe later?).

So now that I've explained what is in the FAQ, don't come asking about how to
complete any level.

Lastly, if there's anything you have that you would like to contribute, feel
free to send it in.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III WHAT'S NEW

Nothing much, except for small changes here and there throughout the FAQ. The
changes are mostly spelling and the likes of it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Key:  * - New section
      + - Contains additions, has been modified

  I   REVISION HISTORY
 II   AUTHOR'S NOTE
III   WHAT'S NEW
1.0   UNITS
      (1.1) Common Units
      (1.2) Freedom Guard
            =Infantry
            =Vehicles
      (1.3) Imperium
            =Infantry
            =Vehicles
      (1.4) Togran
2.0   BUILDINGS
      (2.1) Common Buildings
      (2.2) Freedom Guard
            =Standard
            =Base Defense
      (2.3) Imperium
            =Standard
            =Base Defense
      (2.4) Togran
3.0   MOVEMENT TYPES
4.0   WEAPON TYPES
5.0   UNIT HOTKEYS
END   Credits


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Often in this FAQ I will use FG as short form for Freedom Guard.

-----------
1.0   UNITS
-----------

This section contains information about the units in Dark Reign.

Below is a description of how I arrange and detail the bits of info.

The format for unit descriptions is as follows:

"Name" (name of unit - as appears in game)
Cost: (cost to produce unit)
Move Type: (how it moves, refer to section 3)
Speed: slow/medium/fast (general movement speed - on normal ground)
Armor: light/medium/heavy (strength of armor generally, different weapons have
                        different degrees of effectiveness - vehicles only)
Weapon: (what it uses for attack - taken from 'Archive' in game and helpfiles)
Type: (type of weapon attack, refer to section 4)
Special: (special abilities if available)
Task: (primary purpose)
Good VS: (what type of enemy it's good against - support units not included as
          about anything can destroy them easily)
> (some things I added in, comments, etc)


With that done, lets get on with the units.


==================
(1.1) Common Units
==================
This section lists the common units available on all sides.


Contruction Rig
Cost: 300
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: light
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: -
Task: constructing buildings
Good VS: -
>Your tool for making a base. When you use a Construction Rig to construct
something, you won't be able to control the unit anymore as it 'disappears'.
You'll only get the rig back if you sell the building. Don't leave it in the
open.
Note: If you make a Camera Tower, the rig will reappear after building is done.

Freighter
Cost: 1000
Move Type: wheeled
Speed: slow
Armor: heavy
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: -
Task: collecting Water/Taelon
Good VS: -
>An important tool if you want to survive. Without this, you'll be dry and no
credits will be available for you to build anything. Protect it!

Hover Freighter
Cost: 1500
Move Type: hover
Speed: fast
Armor: heavy
Weapon: back-mount laser cannon
Type: laser
Special: -
Task: collecting Water/Taelon
Good VS: infantry
>Just the same as the Freighter, except that its a bit stronger and can defend
itself (although useless when faced with tremendous force). Can hover, so it
doesn't waste time going around water trying to get back to base.

Water Contaminator
Cost: 10000
Move Type: tracked
Speed: slow
Armor: medium
Weapon: water contaminator
Type: special
Special: 
Task: destroying water springs
Good VS: -
>If your enemy just keeps on building stuff (because of a big stash of credits)
why not stop the cashflow of your enemy? Use this unit to permanently suck dry
the water springs from which the enemy gets his money from. The only drawback
is the cost (would you pay 10,000?).

Base Mover
Cost: -
Move Type: tracked
Speed: slow
Armor: medium
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: -
Task: building transfer
Good VS: -
>You can't build this, you'll get this only when you use the 'Pack/Unpack'
option in the Special menu (certain buildings only). Lets you 'move' your
buildings to other locations, say when you're under attack (uhh) or when you
built something at the wrong place. Otherwise don't use the option, its a waste
of time.

Infiltrator
Cost: 1000
Move Type: walker
Speed: medium
Armor: -
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: can morph into enemy infantry units
Task: special ops
Good VS: -
>Know your enemy, or be your enemy? The Infiltrator will help you spy on your
enemies, just morph into any infantry enemy unit, then slowly advance towards
the enemy HQ or production buildings. Once in, you can either steal plans, or
if you entered the HQ, get access to your enemy's map minimap (the places that
are visible to the enemy). If you go to the Taelon Power Plant or Water 


===================
(1.1) Freedom Guard
===================
This section contains the details for units available when playing on the side
of the Freedom Guard. All entries are arranged according to order in the game.

=Infantry
The Freedom Guard's infantry comes in all types, very diversified to say the
least. Different units are suitable on different occasions, so choose wisely
and don't be afraid to mix the units together. All infantry can climb to the
top of hills but at a slower rate.


Raider
Cost: 150
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: Dobek heavy laser rifle
Type: laser
Special: can phase
Task: light attack, ambush
Good VS: infantry, light-armor vehicles (in group)
>Your standard infantry, you're gonna use a lot of this, especially when you're
starting to build up your base. Don't think of using this unit to go up against
heavier vehicles, they don't stand a chance. Let your big dogs do your job (uh,
thats your vehicles).

Mercenary
Cost: 300
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: 10J shoulder-mount rail gun
Type: rail
Special: can phase
Task: attack, ambush
Good VS: light-armor vehicles, heavy-armor vehicles (in group)
>Stronger infantry that packs a decent punch against vehicles. Useful in the
earlier levels, but still has many uses in the later parts. Particularly useful
in destroying smaller vehicles, tanks (weaker ones), but definitely NOT your
choice when it comes to infantry. Mix them with your Raiders for an effective
attack.

Sniper
Cost: 700
Move Type: walker
Speed: medium
Armor: -
Weapon: 10J side-fitted rail gun
Type: rail (needle)
Special: can morph into plants
Task: sniping
Good VS: infantry, light-armor vehicles (in group)
>Long range attacking females running around into their positions, waiting for
the moment to shoot any enemy that comes close. Morph them for effective
sniping. Although the weapon is categorised as a 'rail' type, its not really
effective against armor, so stay away from vehicles.

Scout
Cost: 300
Move Type: walker
Speed: medium
Armor: -
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: can morph into plants
Task: scouting
Good VS: -
>This is the fastest infantry and best used for scouting the area. Morph them
into trees to ensure protection, but don't move if within enemy sighting range,
or you'll still be detected. Once you get piles of credits, build a small group
of these Scouts and use the 'Scout' option. See them run!

Field Medic
Cost: 500
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: can heal
Task: healing infantry
Good VS: -
>About every strategy game has them, and Dark Reign sure has them. If you don't
prefer healing your units, you're not gonna get far into the game I assure you.
They can be considered "mobile clinics". They're favourite targets, so keep a
watch over them.

Mechanic
Cost: 500
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: can repair
Task: repairing vehicles (ground-based)
Good VS: -
>Mechanics are worth as much as the Field Medics, so you always keep them close
to other units. Instead of healing infantry, they repair your vehicles, which
is also an invaluable skill. As I said for the medics, you won't get far with
no mechanics.

Saboteur
Cost: 800
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: explosives
Type: -
Special: can morph into plants
Task: sabotage
Good VS: most buildings
>If you can't seem to bring a building down 'cos its always repairing itself to
full health, why not try bringing its health to HALF, to make it easier for
your troops to finish the job. Move them close, then choose attack. The cursor
should change into an explosives cursor when over a building. Then watch the
fireworks!

Martyr
Cost: 600
Move Type: walker
Speed: medium
Armor: -
Weapon: concussive plasma detonator
Type: plasma
Special: -
Task: attack (kamikaze)
Good VS: infantry, vehicles (preferably ambush)
>Kamikaze troops from hell. Carries no ranged weapon, but when close to an
enemy, BOOM! Has a short area effect, so your own units will get damaged too.
Avoid grouping these together, and when attacking, don't send in groups at once
because the first blast will kill all of them. Try sending one at a time, with
a short distance between each.


=Vehicles
Early in the game, your reliance on vehicles is little. But as the game moves
on, vehicles are a must. Vehicles will form the mass of your attack force, so
prepare to create mixed groups.


Spider Bike
Cost: 500
Move Type: wheeled (special)
Speed: fast
Armor: medium
Weapon: two 30J Berrik rail guns
Type: rail
Special: -
Task: light attack, recon
Good VS: light-armor vehicles, heavy-armor vehicles (in group)
>Versatile and speedy, these Spider Bikes will be part of your main forces,
their usefulness is undeniable, even in the final levels. Either attack in full
or confuse your enemy with hit-and-run tactics. Either way, your enemy will
fall if you put your bikes to good use.

Rapid Armored Transport (RAT)
Cost: 450
Move Type: wheeled
Speed: slow
Armor: medium
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: can transport
Task: transporting infantry (max:5)
Good VS: -
>Its the RAT, and it does look like a rat...Able to transport a maximum of 5
infantry units (including Construction Rig) to almost anywhere, except water of
course. Able to travel through water, the only Freedom Guard non-hover unit
capable of it.
TIP: Load some of these with Raiders and Mercenaries, then quickly move to
     enemy concentration areas and then release your troops! Be sure to provide
     some cover for the transit.

Skirmish Tank
Cost: 600
Move Type: tracked
Speed: medium
Armor: medium
Weapon: twin Arclaunch missile launchers
Type: missile
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry and vehicles
>Skirmish Tanks can shoot both ground and air-based units, thanks to the great
missiles. Good for early base defense when you're trying to build those air
defense sites, or waiting for your Flak Jacks to come out. Put some of these
tanks together with the Triple Rail Hover Tank for an almost unstoppable combo.

Tank Hunter
Cost: 700
Move Type: tracked
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: Fieldwall Spitcharger
Type: electroshock
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry and vehicles
>Powerful tank, good when paired with the Skirmish Tank. Drawbacks include lack
of armor and range. This unit needs to be close to an enemy to shoot its great
'sheets of lightning' and trying to get close enough without much support is a
stupid idea; protect them so that they can get up close and personal!

Phase Tank
Cost: 600
Move Type: tracked
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: Newell heavy laser cannons
Type: laser
Special: can phase
Task: light attack, ambush
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles
>When paired up with Skirmish Tanks, these tank are really good. But when alone
and only has moderate range and firepower, these units die fast unprotected.
If you build lots of them, you can actually destroy a lot of armored vehicles
(heavy armor included) very fast, and still survive, provided you brought your
Mechanics...

Flak Jack
Cost: 500
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: light
Weapon: twin Hailstorm chaff launchers
Type: chaff
Special: -
Task: air defense/attack
Good VS: flyers
>Mobile defense units. Able to be positioned anywhere to protect your base,
especially at places where you can't build air defense sites. Be sure to put
ground attack units nearby, as the Flak Jack can't shoot ground units.

Triple Rail Hover Tank
Cost: 1300
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: heavy
Weapon: three 50J Berrik rail guns
Type: rail
Special: -
Task: heavy attack
Good VS: vehicles, infantry (less effective)
>This is the ultimate weapon of destruction for the Freedom Guard side. The
three rail guns will cut down any armor quickly, and infantry units, though
less vulnerable to rail weapons, will also suffer as the amount of damage done
is quite significant. The drawback on using this to attack infantry is that the
smaller and faster units can easily overwhelm a Triple Rail if they're grouped.

Hellstorm Artillery
Cost: 1100
Move Type: tracked
Speed: slow
Armor: medium
Weapon: K900 Range Warden howitzer
Type: artillery
Special: -
Task: ranged attack, area denial
Good VS: infantry and buildings
>Death from above (and far away!). The Hellstorm works as its name says, bring-
ing significant damage to any units near the impact point of its shells. A few
of these can bring a building down easily, but takes a bit of time. Also, you
can 'reserve' your place at a faraway water spring by letting the Hellstorm
fire at that area, thus denying access for the enemy.

Sky bike
Cost: 800
Move Type: flyer
Speed: fast
Armor: light
Weapon: twin Stip mini-missile launchers
Type: missile
Special: -
Task: light attack, recon
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles
>Fast and sleek, these Sky Bikes are air versions of the Spider Bike, but does
less damage per shot. Effective during hit-and-run, so keep them moving and
reload as quickly as possible. Produce enough Sky Bikes and you'll get a swarm
of stingin' bees!

Outrider
Cost: 1400
Move Type: flyer
Speed: fast
Armor: heavy
Weapon: Boardog missiles
Type: missile
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry and vehicles
>Add wings to your standard Skirmish Tank, and you get this. Well, not exactly.
This is what you would get if you manage to make the Skirmish Tank fly. As you
already know, flyers go anywhere on the map, so build them and keep them full!
Outriders running out-of-ammo are useless. Incredibly significant damage when
deployed in groups of 6 or more.

Shockwave
Cost: 4000
Move Type: tracked
Speed: slow
Armor: medium
Weapon: "shockwave" (what else to call it?)
Type: seismic wave
Special: -
Task: extreme-attack
Good VS: anything within wave strike area, except flyers
>Who said earthquakes were bad? well, not entirely. Now you can shake the land
and let loose havoc across the enemy's base. Protect it well as it takes much
time and money, once in range deploy immediately! Don't put one in your base,
it might auto-attack (don't all units do?) an enemy and destroy your own base.

Phase Runner
Cost: - (comes together with Phasing Facility)
Move Type: underground
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: -
Task: transporting infantry (max:5)
Good VS: -
>Your other choice of transportation other than the RAT. Better in a sense that
you can do great ambushes with this, as you can release units about anywhere
without being attacked (the phase runner, not units), even in the CENTER of the
enemy's base!


==============
(1.3) Imperium
==============
This section contains the details for units available when playing on the side
of the Imperium.

=Infantry
The Imperium's infantry don't come in so many types as the Freedom Guard, but
they are more powerful in a general sense.


Guardian
Cost: 150
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: -
Weapon: Issue 5 standard laser rifle
Type: laser
Special: -
Task: light attack
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicle (in group)
>This unit is the equivalent of the Freedom Guard Raider. Guardians are normal
kinds of police, put into increasing use as the FG uprising began. No advantage
over the Raider, in fact, timing means well for these two units. Whoever shoots
first, gets to kill the other (provided that they are both at full health).

Bion
Cost: 350
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: light
Weapon: heavy plasma rifle
Type: plasma
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicle, heavy armor vehicle (in group)
>Better than the Guardian, this type of infantry can attack both ground and air
units, though for a short range only if you plan to use it for air defense. Its
plasma rifle is effective for anything, making it better to use than the weak
Guardian. Definitely its better than the Mercenary, figure it out yourself (it
is very simple).

Exterminator
Cost: 500
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: Roll-lock disalunion grenades
Type: poly-acid
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: light/heavy armor vehicles
>It hovers, it thinks, and it eats away armor easily. Its the Exterminator, and
its not going for insects, it wants ARMOR! Highly effective against even the
strongest armor (take on them in groups), but its worthless against infantry.
Repeat, WORTHLESS against infantry. So plan and think well.

Suicide Zombie
Cost: - (made by Hostage Taker)
Move Type: walker
Speed: medium
Armor: -
Weapon: concussive plasma detonator
Type: plasma
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry, light/heavy vehicle
>Since the Imperium don't prefer infantry, FG Martyrs have made a problem for
Imperium commanders. To counter the kamikaze problem, the cruel Imperium has
made special Hostage Takers (see vehicle section) to run over and turn enemy
infantry into 'zombies'. These zombies, in the game, are the same as Martyrs,
let them run and BOOM they go, taking any nearby unit with them.


=Vehicles
The Imperium relies more on vehicles than infantry, thats why Imperium vehicles
are much stronger and work well in almost any situation. Almost all are hover
propelled, so that is where the disadvantage lies.


Scout Runner
Cost: 500
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: medium
Weapon: DF Set laser cannon
Type: laser
Special: -
Task: light attack, recon
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles (in group)
>Your average vehicles capable of attacking and scouting (fast). Don't engage
Spider Bikes with this even though they are almost equal. You'll die in a few
shots. Instead, group scout runners with infantry to produce the best efficien
-cy.

Invader Troop Transport
Cost: 600
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: DF Set heavy laser rifle
Type: laser
Special: can transport
Task: transporting infantry (max:5)
Good VS: infantry
>Identical to the FG's RAT (don't count the graphics) except that it has a
laser gun to defend itself, and it moves a bit faster.

Plasma Tank
Cost: 600
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: heavy
Weapon: 3000P plasma cannon
Type: plasma
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles, heavy armor vehicles (in group)
>The main workhorse of the Imperium, you'll use this a lot. Combine them with
your Bions/MADs to fend off air attacks.

Amper
Cost: 500
Move Type: walker
Speed: slow
Armor: light
Weapon: biodarts
Type: biotoxin
Special: -
Task: support
Good VS: infantry
>This mechanical female from hell walks on three legs and injects infantry with
a special biotoxin that makes target unit invincible for a short time. If the
unit is cured at a Hospital, the effect disappears. If left like that, the unit
will die when time is up. Useful for enemy infantry, give them a slo.o.ow pain.

Mobile Air Defense (MAD)
Cost: 800
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: Orbitran Stingers
Type: bladed orb
Special: -
Task: air defense/attack
Good VS: air units
>Cut down those enemy air units who always disturb you. Ideal for protecting
Imperium tanks as all tanks are hovering types, and this is hovering too. The
bad? It can't climb slopes like the Flak Jack can.

Recon Drone
Cost: 400
Move Type: fly
Speed: medium
Armor: light
Weapon: -
Type: -
Special: -
Task: recon
Good VS: -
>The ultimate dedicated recon unit in Dark Reign (actually, the only one). It
flies, so you'll get the map revealed in no time (have a few drones). Its very
weak, so be careful. Its better to sacrifice it than to let some unit follow it
back to your base (which means your enemy will know where you are: BAD!).

Shredder
Cost: 700
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: medium
Weapon: modified quarrysaw
Type: blades
Special: -
Task: special attack
Good VS: infantry only
>Tired of those infantry that always destroys your tanks in an instant? Always
overwhelmed by enemy infantry? Why not try CUTTING them? Bring out the Shredder
and watch those pieces fly. Put in on auto 'Search & Destroy' and just sit back
relaxing. Bring one or two together with your big tank groups.

Hostage Taker
Cost: 600
Move Type: wheeled
Speed: medium
Armor: heavy
Weapon: vivisector
Type: converter
Special: can convert enemy
Task: special - enemy conversion
Good VS: infantry only
>If you can't beat them, join them. True to an extent for the hostage taker, it
runs over any infantry and takes some time to convert the enemy unit to your
side. The result? A walking zombie with a strap-on bomb (see Suicide Zombies in
the Imperium Infantry section).

Tachion Tank
Cost: 1500
Move Type: hover
Speed: medium
Armor: very heavy
Weapon: 5000G tachion cannon
Type: tachion
Special: can self-destruct
Task: heavy attack
Good VS: infantry and vehicles
>This is the best tank available on the Imperium side, but the price will sap
your credits if you don't have about 2 or more established water mining opera-
tions (one water launchpad per one water spring). Works well against any 
ground targets, better to save the firepower for the vehicles. Extremely easy
for air units to pick off, as the Tachion Tank can't shoot skywards, so be sure
to have at least one MAD for protection. When you're desperate, and your tank
is low on health, don't bother running back to base, just double-click on the
unit and then watch it take out nearby units with its self-destruct feature.

SCARAB (Self Contained Armored Ranged Artillery Battery)
Cost: 1300
Move Type: hover
Speed: slow
Armor: medium / extreme (shielded mode)
Weapon: Tarl-lined heavy strike cannon
Type: artillery
Special: can shield
Task: ranged attack, area denial
Good VS: infantry and buildings
>These SCARABs will make a base disappear if you give them orders to. Truly a
mass destruction weapon when you got 5 or more SCARABs. About the same as the
Freedom Guard's Hellstorm Artillery, only that the graphic detail is different
and has a special feature. This special feature is a shield mode, where the
unit will contain itself within its own build-in shield. Armor is increased
when in this mode, a few times stronger than normal. However, the drawback is
that you can't do anything during this mode. Good for keeping it alive while
you summon reinforcements.

Cyclone
Cost: 1500
Move Type: fly
Speed: fast
Armor: medium
Weapon: Wat TII (T-two) neutron cannon
Type: neutron
Special: -
Task: attack
Good VS: infantry and vehicles
>Death from above no. 2! Send a swarm of these to easily devastate unprotected
groups of enemy armor. Provide sufficient re-arming bays and watch the Cyclones
come and go! Good for intercepting advancing enemy forces.

Sky Fortress
Cost: 2500
Move Type: fly
Speed: slow
Armor: heavy
Weapon: Ariax plasma compressor
Type: plasma
Special: -
Task: heavy attack
Good VS: buildings
>I hate to be repetitious, but it can't be helped. Here comes Death from Above
no. 3! Too bad it needs to recharge and its slow to do it...No worry, as it
takes out half from most buildings health. Good for ground vehicles too, but
the firepower is wasted (unless you're cheating). Bring two or three and watch
the structures go down, one by one. Bring some Cyclones too, you need still
need to protect them.


============
(1.4) Togran
============
When playing on the Togran side (in campaigns it is only in the last mission),
you have access to BOTH Freedom Guard and Imperium units, so its considered
like a best side (but not). No need to detail all over again, just read the
Freedom Guard and Imperium Units section.


---------------
2.0   BUILDINGS
---------------
This section explains about the various buildings available in Dark Reign.

Below is a description of how I arrange and detail the bits of info.

The format for building descriptions is as follows:

-=Standard=-
"Name" (name as appears in game)
Armor: light/medium/heavy (strength of building generally)
Cost: (how much credits is needed to build/upgrade)
Task: (primary purpose)
Upgrade: (what it becomes when upgraded)
> (some things I added in, comments, etc)

-=Base Defense=-
"Name" (name as it appears in game)
Armor: light/medium/heavy (strength of building generally)
Cost: (how much credits is needed to build)
Weapon: (weapon used by building for base defense)
Type: (type of weapon used, refer to section 4)
Good VS: (what the weapon is good against)
> (some things I added in, comments, etc)

With that understood, lets go over to the buildings.


======================
(2.1) Common Buildings
======================
These are the buildings available to all sides.


Water Launch Pad
Armor: medium
Cost: 2500
Task: storing water (for credits)
Upgrade: -
>A necessity for building a base. Comes with a freighter so you can start your
water collecting. Best build either to the south/below water springs or to the
west/left of it. This way your freighter doesn't have to travel much, and your
credits will rise faster.

Taelon Power Generator
Armor: medium
Cost: 2200
Task: provides power to base
Upgrade: -
>Yet another necessity for a base, as it provides power to ensure that the base
runs at maximum efficiency. Without it, the consequences are, very bad. Things
that will happen are buildings build twice slower, repairing is slowed, units
produce slower, and your mini-map won't function at all. How's that? If you can
win in these conditions (and withstand the computer's constant message saying
"low power"), then you must be a real pro. The early levels don't count.

Camera Tower
Armor: light
Cost: 200
Task: reveals map for certain radius where it's build (affected by terrain
      height)
Upgrade: -
>Tired of constantly replacing your units that you put in a certain location to
give you more line-of-sight? Well, why don't you build a permanent (well, until
someone shoots it that is) thing there? Recommended areas are high spots and
near trees (camouflage), but never put them in a wide area unless you have tons
of credits. The Camera Tower is better than placing units because it's sight
range is more.

Field Hospital
Armor: light
Cost: 500
Task: heal infantry, enable Field Medic (FG only) to be produced
Upgrade: -
>The Freedom Guard has the advantage of the Medic, but the Imperium will have
to stick with only this. Very fragile, yet placing it deep in the base won't
do much good for your injured army. Balance the location with speed (within
quick reach) and protection.

Repair Station
Armor: light
Cost: 800
Task: repair vehicles, enable Mechanic (FG only) to be produced
Upgrade: 
>The Freedom Guard have the Mechanics which can do on-the-spot repairs for any
damaged vehicles, but the Imperium will have to rely on these stations to make
vehicles fully-repaired. As I said for the Field Hospital, balance speed and
protection.

Small Horizontal Bridge
Armor: medium
Cost: 100 
Task: provides means of crossing water
Upgrade: -
>Can't cross water, but still wanna save time? Build bridges and have a nice
day walking across. Be careful, units that aren't hover types will die in an
instant if they are ON the bridge (parts which are above water) when the bridge
gets destroyed.

Small Vertical Bridge
Armor: medium
Cost: 100 
Task: provides means of crossing water
Upgrade: -
>Same as Small Horizontal Bridge.

Bridge Junction
Armor: medium
Cost: 150 
Task: provides means of crossing water
Upgrade: -
>Same as the other two bridges, but costs more and takes a wee bit longer to
build. This junction type is wider, therefore best used for wider water areas.
Or if you're playing a multiplayer map with plenty of water space, try building
'platforms' using bridges and junction types.


===================
(2.2) Freedom Guard
===================
This section lists the various buildings available to the Freedom Guard side.


=Standard
These buildings are components of your base, most of them are very important.
Without these buildings, you cannot do a lot of things.


Headquarters 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 750
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: Headquarters 2
>You need this to make Construction Rigs, therefore protect it well. Once it's
gone, and you have no other HQs, say goodbye to your game. Chances of winning
WITHOUT a HQ are 1 out of 10. The only way you could win is by cheating and/or
having a mass reserved of credits and also a big, strong reserved attack force.

Headquarters 2
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: Headquarters 3
>Upgraded Headquarters. Same as Headquarters 1, except that this is stronger
and enables higher level units to be built.

Headquarters 3
Armor: heavy
Cost: 1250
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Headquarters. Same as Headquarters 2, except that this is stronger
and enables certain units/buildings to be built.

Training Facility 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 1500
Task: produce infantry
Upgrade: Training Facility 2
>The building needed to produce infantry. Upgrade it to produce higher level
units and make building stronger. Its very important, because you just can't
get by with vehicles only.

Training Facility 2
Armor: heavy
Cost: 750
Task: produce infantry
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Training Facility. Same as Training Facility 1, except that this is
stronger and enables higher level units to be produced.

Assembly Plant 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 2200
Task: produce vehicles
Upgrade: Assembly Plant 2
>The building needed to produce vehicles. Place it well, so that you can build
units efficiently while being protected. Infantry only will not get you far.

Assembly Plant 2
Armor: heavy
Cost: 2500
Task: produce vehicles
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Assembly Plant. Same as Assembly Plant 1, except that this building
is stronger and enables higher level vehicles to be built.

Phasing Facility
Armor: medium
Cost: 1200
Task: enable phasing for some infantry/vehicle
Upgrade: Phasing Facility 2
>Having this building enables the 'phase' option for some infantry/vehicles.
Put it somewhere deep in your base, you don't want enemies to touch it. The
phasing feature is incredibly useful when out to good use.

Phasing Facility 2
Armor: medium
Cost: 1200
Task: provides Phase Runner
Upgrade: -
>Upgrading from the normal building gives you a Phase Runner, which is detailed
in the Units section. Other than that there's no difference unless you wanna
count the building health (increased).

Rearming Deck
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Task: rearms air units (Sky Bike & Outrider)
Upgrade: -
>Since the only flying units of the FG carry a limited supply of ammo, you need
to rearm them. Place it somewhere near the exterior of your base, so as to
protect it while giving your air units a place to rearm efficiently.


=Base Defense
These buildings have mounted weapons and are used to defend your base. They are
important in ensuring your base is untouched (that's if you have thick defenses
to say the least). These buildings fire slower when power is low (yellow/red).


Laser Turret
Armor: light
Cost: 500
Weapon: heavy repeating laser cannon
Type: laser
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles, air units (less)
>Your basic base defense weapon, it will still be useful even if you can build
the Heavy Rail Platform as it fends off infantry with ease. But too many of the
enemy will easily overwhelm it. Can shoot air units, but not really good.

Heavy Rail Platform
Armor: heavy
Cost: 1700
Weapon: two gatling heavy-rail cannons
Type: rail
Good VS: vehicles
>The best defense you can build, yet its not effective against infantry, even
less if groups of infantry. But its best point is the ability to chew armor
very easily AND quickly. Can fire at two enemies at once ('cos its two guns are
individually mounted).

Air Defense Site
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Weapon: rapid anti-air laser cannon
Type: laser
Good VS: air units only
>Stationary structures for protecting your base against air attacks. Place them
in, out and around your base to ensure that nothing that can fly will damage
your base. Don't leave one in the open, its a BIG mistake. Unlike what you will
expect from a laser weapon, this one's laser cannon is pretty strong.


==============
(2.3) Imperium
==============
This section lists the various buildings available to the Imperium side.


=Standard
These buildings are components of your base, most of them are very important.
Without these buildings, you cannot do a lot of things.


Headquarters 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 750
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: Headquarters 2
>You need this to make Construction Rigs, therefore protect it well. Once it's
gone, and you have no other HQs, say goodbye to your game. Chances of winning
WITHOUT a HQ are 1 out of 10. The only way you could win is by cheating and/or
having a mass reserved of credits and also a big, strong reserved attack force.

Headquarters 2
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: Headquarters 3
>Upgraded Headquarters. Same as Headquarters 1, except that this is stronger
and enables higher level units to be built.

Headquarters 3
Armor: heavy
Cost: 1250
Task: base necessity
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Headquarters. Same as Headquarters 2, except that this is stronger
and enables certain units/buildings to be built.

Training Facility 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 1500
Task: produce infantry
Upgrade: Training Facility 2
>The building needed to produce infantry. Upgrade it to produce higher level
units and make building stronger. Its very important, because you just can't
get by with vehicles only.

Training Facility 2
Armor: heavy
Cost: 750
Task: produce infantry
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Training Facility. Same as Training Facility 1, except that this is
stronger and enables higher level units to be produced.

Assembly Plant 1
Armor: medium
Cost: 2200
Task: produce vehicles
Upgrade: Assembly Plant 2
>The building needed to produce vehicles. Place it well, so that you can build
units efficiently while being protected. Infantry only will not get you far.

Assembly Plant 2
Armor: heavy
Cost: 2500
Task: produce vehicles
Upgrade: -
>Upgraded Assembly Plant. Same as Assembly Plant 1, except that this building
is stronger and enables higher level vehicles to be built.

Temporal Gate
Armor: medium
Cost: 1800
Task: transporting unit (max:3)
Upgrade: -
>Unlike the Invader Troop Transport, this Temporal Gate can send your units to
ANYWHERE on the map, which is very helpful for certain levels. The drawback is
it can carry only 3 units at a time, and needs to recharge before you can use
it again.

Rearming Deck
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Task: rearms air units (Cyclone)
Upgrade: -
>The Imperium's Rearming Deck is no less important the the FG's. The nice thing
about it is that the build shape (spaces needed) is more compact, as opposed to
the FG Rearming Deck that is a bit odd. Place them well and watch the Cyclones
do their job efficiently.

Rift Creator
Armor: heavy
Cost: 8000
Weapon: "rift creator" (what else to call?)
Type: rift
Good VS: anything
>Let the vortex devastate! Ha ha! Make sure you can see the area which you want
to target (on the playing screen, not mini-map), then use it! This building's
stats are of a special-case, its not for defense but attack.
TIP: Freighter-Vortex trick - Use Freighters to enter the enemy base, just tell
     it to MOVE, then use the Rift Creator anywhere in the enemy's base! The
     vortex has quite a wide radius, so choose your target spot wisely.


=Base Defense
These buildings have mounted weapons and are used to defend your base. They are
important in ensuring your base is untouched (that's if you have thick defenses
to say the least). These buildings fire slower when power is low (yellow/red).


Plasma Turret
Armor: light
Cost: 500
Weapon: heavy repeating plasma cannon
Type: plasma
Good VS: infantry, light armor vehicles
>Similar to the FG's Laser Turret, but better, as its effective against both
infantry AND vehicles, making it more useful.

Neutron Accelerator
Armor: heavy
Cost: 1700
Weapon: heavy neutron cannon
Type: neutron
Good VS: infantry, vehicles
>Weapon with incredibly strong attack power. When playing against the Imperium,
you'll sometimes think this weapon is extremely hard or impossible to destroy,
which is not true. You just need to think more. But when playing as on the
Imperium side (insert hysterical laugh here, if you want to), your base will be
supremely protected. There's one thing you need to worry about, power supply.

Air Defense Site
Armor: medium
Cost: 1000
Weapon: rapid-firing bladed orb launcher
Type: bladed orb
Good VS: air units only
>Sting those air units nicely with the tree-like structure of this Air Defense
Site. It takes more space than the FG version, but its no less effective (maybe
better). Once enough are set up strategically, virtually no air unit can pass
into the base.


============
(2.4) Togran
============
The Togran side has access to buildings used both by the Freedom Guard and the
Imperium. Therefore, please refer to the details in the sections regarded.
To put the same info here again would be a waste of time and effort.


-------------------
3.0   MOVEMENT TYPES
-------------------

This section lists the movement types and their explanations.


Walker
>Ground-based, walks using foot (infantry) or articulated limbs (machinery).
Moderate speed on normal terrains, slows down when travelling across swamps or
climbing up steep slopes. Walkers can climb the highest slopes, but cannot
traverse water.

Wheeled & Tracked
>Both are for vehicles, ground-based. Cannot cross water like walkers. Cannot
climb steep slopes, gains some speed when travelling on roads/paths.

Hover
>Unit has anti-gravity system to lift unit just above ground. Travels smoothly
with no speed loss/gain over most terrains. Crosses water and swamps easily,
but unable to climb even moderate slopes.

Flyer
>Has no limitations, as unit is airborne. Line of sight is sometimes limited
though.

Underground
>Using a special phasing technology, the Phase Runner (only unit capable of
underground movement) can move through underground to anywhere on the map, and
release its passengers on far away areas (even in the center of the enemy's
base!).


------------------
4.0   WEAPON TYPES
------------------

This section contains information about the various weapon types.


Laser
>Especially good against infantry, but does only moderate damage to armor and
buildings. Only certain types of laser weapons can shoot air units.

Plasma
>All-round weapon, effective against infantry, armor and buildings. Can attack
air units too.

Rail
>Special electro-magnet propelled projectiles along a rail - high speed in
essence (theoretical in real-life). Causes significant damage to armor and also
buildings but is not really good against infantry.

Rail (needle)
>Different type of rail weapon, highly effective against infantry, but its
virtually worthless against armor/buildings.

Missile
>Good overall weapon, different degrees of damage depending on missile type.
Equally effective against all types of units and buildings. Can shoot air units
easily.

Artillery
>High-damage, high area spread effect weapons. Units within damage radius gets
varying amounts of damage depending on distance from point of impact. Extremely
effective for base-destroying, good for destroying groups of infantry, but
somehow not very worthwhile against armor.

Tachion
>Very effective weapon for all kinds of units and buildings. Small area spread
effect causes damage to surrounding units/buildings.

Neutron
>Good for anything, a bit more effective for armor.

Electroshock
>Same as neutron, good for anything, and has an extra effectiveness against
armor.

Poly-Acid
>Strictly an anti-armor weapon, for melting the metals. Though it does a little
damage to infantry and buildings, it can be considered useless against them.

Chaff
>Used only by the Flak Jack, its made of metal debris picked up by the Flak
Jack and shot at air units. Causes a short after damage, meaning the effect
lingers for a while, damaging the target unit as long as the effect is there.

Biotoxin
>Used only by the Amper, it is used for infantry. It makes the infantry
invincible for a limited period of time, which, if uncured by the Field Hospi-
tal, unit will die. Can be used against enemy infantry to give them a slow
death.

Bladed Orb
>An air defense weapon where bladed orbs are shot at air units. The orbs work
like projectiles, they hit and damage, but because of the blades, damage is
increased.

Blades
>Available only to the Shredder, this weapon is every infantry's nightmare.
Destroys infantry units almost instantly (unless you edited the gamefiles).

Converter
>Available only to the Imperium Hostage Taker, it converts enemy infantry into
Imperium Suicide Zombies. Takes a while to fully convert enemy.

Seismic Wave (SUPER WEAPON)
>This is utilised by the FG Shockwave, and causes massive destruction along its
path. Use with caution, it could backfire and turn upon your base.

Rift (SUPER WEAPON)
>Weapon technology created by the Imperium, it creates a hurricane-like vortex
that sucks anything within its reach inside. In the game, things don't look as
if they're being sucked in, they get damage. 


------------------
5.0   UNIT HOTKEYS
------------------

This section lists all the possible hotkeys that can be used for units.

The details are put in this way:

hotkey press list (what to press)
> (description of hotkey)

---

Ctrl + n (must have unit(s) selected)
>Create tactical group, where n is group number (0-9).

0 - 9
>Call up tactical group (must have group assigned to number to select group)

(have selected units first) Shift + drag select/click unit(s)
>Add group of units to currently selected group of unit(s)

Alt + click any unit
>Selects all units of clicked unit type that are visible on current game window
(what you can see for that part of the map you're viewing). E.g. press Alt and
click on any Raider, will select all Raiders within current view.

Ctrl + Alt + click any unit
>Same like hotkey above (Alt + click any unit), but this way you'll be able to
select ALL units of that type no mater where they are on the map.


(more to come...if any)


-------------
END   CREDITS
-------------
This FAQ wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the people listed below:

Firstly, I would like to thank the following few for hosting this FAQ:
-GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com)
-Al Amaloo from About.com-Video Game Strategies (http://vgstrategies.about.com)
-Tim Wuyts from Cheat Empire (http://home.planetinternet.be/~twuyts)

Auran & Activision
(www.auran.com & www.activision.com respectively)
Incredible thanks for making this great game.

Kao Megura
-For advice, and for being a great example to all FAQ writers


(Got anything you want to contribute? Send it to me)


===============================================================================
Thank you for reading this FAQ. I hope you get benefits from this FAQ and also
enjoy it. If you have anything you would like added to this FAQ, have some info
that I don't, or just want to send in some comments/suggestions, feel free to
contact me. But remember, do not attempt to spam! If you do, you will suffer
the consequences of your actions!

Written by K.Teoh ( k t e o h 8 5 @yahoo.com - no spaces)
Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000-2001, K.Teoh.

                             [ E N D  O F  F A Q ]

