Grunt

T2
T3
Amphibious
Fast Infantry Bot
Metal
36
Energy
880
Health
270
Speed
81
Damage
74
Buildpower
0
Weapons
BeamLaser

The Grunt is a basic infantry bot that's cheap to build and can quickly devastate poorly defended expansions, artillery units, and even isolated commanders. It also fills a scouting role, gathering intel while easily killing enemy scout units like Ticks.

Build up a small force to rush an undefended commander.

It is armed with two light lasers that have slightly greater range than the Pawn's guns, so you can easily take them out by "kiting" them (move back and let the Pawns come to you).

How to use this unit

Aggravator

T2
T3
Amphibious
Rocket Bot - good vs. static defenses
Metal
110
Energy
1150
Health
740
Speed
48
Damage
41
Buildpower
0
Weapons
MissileLauncher

The Aggravator is a light rocket bot that's commonly used for pushing enemy defenses.

Support them with fast units like Grunts and some Graverobbers.

Thanks to its range the rocket bot can out range a Sentry and force enemy commanders to retreat. It's slower than the Rocketer, but also has more health.

How to use this unit

Construction Bot

T2
T3
Amphibious
Tech 1 Constructor
Metal
120
Energy
1750
Health
660
Speed
35
Damage
0
Buildpower
80
Weapons

The Construction Bot can build basic Tech 1 structures and is the cheapest construction unit.

Use multiple on a single structure to increase build power.

It's quite slow and weak, so try to escort it with a few Grunts when expanding. Each constructor also increases the player's energy and metal storage capacity by 50.

How to use this unit

Trasher

T2
T3
Amphibious
Amphibious Anti-air Bot
Metal
125
Energy
1100
Health
640
Speed
53
Damage
55
Buildpower
0
Weapons
MissileLauncher

The Trasher is an amphibious anti-air bot that's cheap to build and can shoot down light air units.

Keep them at the back of your army to defend against air raids.

It's useful for preventing enemy bombing runs and can also walk underwater.

How to use this unit

Graverobber

T2
T3
Amphibious
Stealthy Rez / Reclaim / Repair Bot
stealth, resurrector
Metal
130
Energy
1400
Health
220
Speed
78
Damage
0
Buildpower
200
Weapons

The Graverobber is a resurrection bot that can turn wrecks into brand new units.

Being stealthy, means that Radar cannot spot them, so they can work safely as long as your enemies does not have line of sight on them. They are extremely fragile — use with caution!

Assign them to repair and resurrect units on your front line to keep your army reinforced.

_‍_It can also reclaim wrecks, rocks, and trees, optionally reclaim an entire area, for extra resources.

ALT + Fight (F) orders (on default keys) will make Lazarus:

  1. Resurrect (instead of Reclaim) any intact wrecks they find
  2. Reclaim un-resurrectable debris
  3. Repair friendly units

How to use this unit

Thug

T2
T3
Amphibious
Light Plasma Bot
Metal
140
Energy
1150
Health
1100
Speed
45
Damage
60
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Cannon

The Thug is a light plasma bot that deals sizeable damage for a relatively low cost to build.

Combine with resurrection bots to keep them healthy while pushing the enemy front line.

It is fairly slow, so watch out for fast enemy units and long-range defences. It also has more range when shooting from higher ground.

How to use this unit

Cortex Commander

T2
T3
Amphibious
Commander
cloak, capturer
Metal
2700
Energy
26000
Health
3700
Speed
38
Damage
111498
Buildpower
300
Weapons
2x BeamLaser, DGun

The Cortex Commander is the most versatile and important unit in your army. It's what you'll use to start your initial base and to build your first unit factory.

Use it to build and defend your front line when you expand.

It can produce both metal and energy, it's amphibious, equipped with a laser and powerful disintegrator gun (D-Gun), and can build Tech 1 structures.

How to use this unit

Bedbug

T2
T3
Amphibious
Amphibious Crawling Bomb
Metal
69
Energy
5800
Health
620
Speed
81
Damage
2000
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Melee, Cannon

The Bedbug is a crawling bomb designed for one purpose—to go kamikaze on enemy units and structures. Very deadly vs. grouped-up units such as tanks.

When used in a swarm, spread them out to avoid a chain reaction.

Crawling bombs have 140 AoE normally, 216 AoE along with increased damage if you self-destruct it. Thanks to their amphibious attribute, they're also great for attacking and regaining sea territory.

How to use this unit

Deceiver

T2
T3
Amphibious
Radar Jammer Bot
jammer
Metal
75
Energy
1550
Health
345
Speed
39
Damage
0
Buildpower
0
Weapons

The Deceiver is a mobile radar jamming bot that keeps units within its jamming range from appearing on the minimap.

Use it with cloakable units to make them totally invisible and undetectable.

It is best used to mount a surprise attack and to hide your units or structures from long-range weapons. Beware units can still be detected if the enemy has a intrusion countermeasure system.

How to use this unit

Augur

T2
T3
Amphibious
Radar Bot
radar
Metal
99
Energy
1350
Health
390
Speed
45
Damage
0
Buildpower
0
Weapons

The Augur is a mobile radar bot that gives you intel on enemy units within its range.

Keep it behind your army so it doesn't get taken out.

It doesn’t have any weapons and has rather low health, but having intel on your enemies whereabouts is crucial.

How to use this unit

Spectre

T2
T3
Amphibious
Radar-Invisible Spy Bot
cloak, stealth, sonar-stealth
Metal
165
Energy
12500
Health
380
Speed
62
Damage
0
Buildpower
50
Weapons

The Spectre is a stealthy and cloakable spy bot that's totally invisible to your enemy.

Self-destruct it near an enemy Citadel to disable it with the discharged EMP.

It is also good to have nearby enemy units so your artillery has a clear target location. However, beware that it can be detected if the enemy has a Tracer within range.

How to use this unit

Fiend

T2
T3
Amphibious
Fast Assault Bot
Metal
200
Energy
3000
Health
1060
Speed
83
Damage
240
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Flame

The Fiend is a fast and deadly raider bot equipped with a short-range flamethrower.

Optimized to quickly kill weak or slow units and demolish bases.

Moderately durable for a raider, they are still highly vulnerable to gunships and heavier defenses.

Combine Fiends with a Deceiver to hide them from radar until ready to strike.

Fiends can self-destruct in 1 second (default for most units is 5 seconds) which deals 1110 damage in a 100 radius. Push Fiends into the center of enemy forces and detonate for massive damage!

How to use this unit

Twitcher

T2
T3
Amphibious
Combat Engineer
Metal
210
Energy
3800
Health
830
Speed
90
Damage
0
Buildpower
125
Weapons

The Twitcher is a handy construction unit that can run fairly quickly and provide build-power wherever you need it.

Useful for producing Fiends while on the move.

Its purpose is to have a source of mobile build power that you can quickly move to wherever you need it. It's also used to build mines for securing your flanks and areas of high tactical importance.

How to use this unit

Duck

T2
T3
Amphibious
Amphibious Bot
Metal
330
Energy
9500
Health
2350
Speed
56
Damage
174
Buildpower
0
Weapons
TorpedoLauncher, BeamLaser

The Duck is an amphibious bot equipped with:

  1. Short-range medium laser
  2. Light torpedo launcher
Useful for raiding unprotected naval structures and sneaking into enemy territory from the sea.

It's also a good way to allocate a quick moving amphibious torpedo unit to aid your naval units.

In masses they can turn the tides of a naval battle and break through to the enemy economy. Be careful relying solely on its weak laser beam is not advised.

How to use this unit

Sheldon

T2
T3
Amphibious
Mobile Mortar Bot
Metal
410
Energy
2200
Health
940
Speed
50
Damage
66
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Cannon

The Sheldon is an agile mortar bot armed with a long-range plasma mortar that fires small shells at a fast rate.

It has longer range than most T2 units. The Sheldon is a natural skirmisher - perfect for dealing damage at long range while on the move. Use them to provide fire support for your close-range units.

Mix in mobile radar and jammer bots for a classic combo - the radar bots' large sight radius vastly increases the accuracy of the Sheldons while jammers hide them from enemy radar.

The Sheldon is also good at dismantling enemy defensive lines as it can slowly but steadily do damage from a relatively safe distance.

The main weakness of the Sheldon is its paper-thin armor, making them sitting ducks once enemy units get close enough. Also do note Sheldon are very weak against large numbers of cheap fodder such as Ticks and Pawns.

How to use this unit

Advanced Construction Bot

T2
T3
Amphibious
Tech 2 Constructor
Metal
470
Energy
6900
Health
1000
Speed
33
Damage
0
Buildpower
180
Weapons

The Advanced Construction Bot can build Tech 2 structures and opens the door to an advanced economy.

Start by building Advanced Metal Extractors and a Fusion Reactor.

It's quite slow and weak, so try to escort it with a few defensive units. Each Tech 2 constructor also increases the player's energy and metal storage capacity by 100.

How to use this unit

Skuttle

T2
T3
Amphibious
Advanced Amphibious Crawling Bomb
cloak
Metal
540
Energy
26000
Health
355
Speed
84
Damage
3350
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Melee, Cannon

The Skuttle is a crawling bomb designed for one purpose — to go kamikaze on enemy units and structures.

When used in a swarm spread them out to avoid a chain reaction.

It has a large area of effect when it explodes, which is even bigger when you self-destruct it. Thanks to their amphibious attribute they're also great for attacking and regaining sea territory.

Skuttle's main advantage over the Bedbug is the ability to Cloak.

Use Juno to disable enemy Radar before sneaking in a cloaked Skuttle for devastating effect.
How to use this unit

Sumo

T2
T3
Amphibious
Armored Assault Bot
Metal
560
Energy
9300
Health
5400
Speed
38
Damage
344
Buildpower
0
Weapons
BeamLaser

The Sumo is a heavily armored laser bot that deals great amounts of damage in close-combat.

Use it to absorb incoming fire while your long-range units take out the enemy units.

It's a lot stronger than the Welder, but also costs more. When you have enough of them they become quite an unstoppable force.

How to use this unit

Arbiter

T2
T3
Amphibious
Heavy Rocket Bot
Metal
600
Energy
5800
Health
610
Speed
54
Damage
100
Buildpower
0
Weapons
StarburstLauncher

The Arbiter is a long-range heavy rocket bot that fires its missiles straight up to hit enemy units from a high angle.

Use them to destroy enemy defenses from far away and to break their front line.

It doesn't have much health, but it can easily target structures and units behind walls or high cliffs.

How to use this unit

Termite

T2
T3
Amphibious
Heavy All-terrain Assault Spider
Metal
600
Energy
9000
Health
3100
Speed
48
Damage
331
Buildpower
0
Weapons
BeamLaser

The Termite is an all-terrain spider bot equipped with two close-quarter heatrays. Best used in maps with hilly terrain to attack from unexpected angles.

Evade enemy defenses by traversing where other units can't go.

Termites are decent at close range but will be outpowered by massed raiders.

Use them to strike bases and economy, which are protected solely by terrain.

Contrary to popular belief, Termites are not a direct counter to Recluse due to their relatively slow speed, even though they overwhelm it at close range.

How to use this unit

Manticore

T2
T3
Amphibious
Heavy Amphibious Anti-Air Bot
Metal
650
Energy
6200
Health
1420
Speed
35
Damage
249
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Cannon, 4x MissileLauncher

The Manticore is an advanced anti-air bot equipped with medium-range missiles and a short-range flak cannon.

Keep it at the back of your army to defend against air raids.

It's amphibious and deals a significant amount of damage to most aircraft, but can't shoot while underwater.

How to use this unit

Commander

T2
T3
Amphibious
Decoy Commander
cloak, capturer
Metal
750
Energy
13000
Health
3700
Speed
38
Damage
294
Buildpower
300
Weapons
2x BeamLaser, DGun

The Decoy Commander is a fake version of your actual Cortex Commander and can build basic Tech 1 structures, including mines.

Use it to fool your enemy and for extra build power on the front line.

It serves the function of confusing your opponent and it's good so the enemy will target the fake one.

How to use this unit

Commando

T2
T3
Amphibious
Stealthy Paratrooper Bot
jammer
Metal
1200
Energy
15500
Health
1560
Speed
75
Damage
200
Buildpower
200
Weapons
LaserCannon

The Commando is a versatile and amphibious "paratrooper" bot, which needs proficient control skills to be successful.

It will drop out of a transport when it gets destroyed.

Its cannon fires rapidly with splash damage, and it regenerates its own health faster than most units, but it primarily excels as a minelaying saboteur and spy.

Use mines and its weapon to weaken buildings, then reclaim them for their full metal value.

_‍_It's able to build a few different units with the second longest build range in the game. It can demolish bases or lay mines amidst enemies even over cliffs or from water onto land, and set cameras in terrain where enemies won't find them.

Commando is the only unit, besides the Phantasm, that can jam radar/sonar from the water.

_‍_Uniquely immune to the Juno missile, it can keep units & structures hidden while providing radar itself. Given its very short jamming range, Move in formation orders should be used so it and your forces all move at the same speed.

How to use this unit

Mammoth

T2
T3
Amphibious
Heavily Armored Assault Bot
Metal
2200
Energy
35000
Health
15600
Speed
23
Damage
503
Buildpower
0
Weapons
BeamLaser

The Mammoth is a heavily armored assault bot that's equipped with two heavy beam lasers.

Use it to absorb incoming fire while your long-range units take out the enemy units.

It has the most health among all the Tech 2 land units and is the best choice for tanking enemy fire. When you have enough of them they become quite an unstoppable force.

The two most notable even heavier T2 units are the Dragon and the Black Hydra.

How to use this unit

Shiva

T2
T3
Amphibious
Amphibious Siege Mech
Metal
1550
Energy
23000
Health
9400
Speed
48
Damage
407
Buildpower
0
Weapons
Cannon, StarburstLauncher

Shivas are experimental siege mechs equipped with two powerful cannons and a heavy vertical rocket launcher. Their cannons excel at killing tightly-packed enemies, while their longer-ranged rockets clear walls and high terrain to pick off key defenses.

The flight time of their rockets can lead to friendly fire as allies walk into them! Be careful!

They're also amphibious and can walk underwater, though they can't fire their weapons this way.

Shivas are best at destroying lighter units and laying waste to defensive lines, but falter vs. heavy tanks, and turrets like the Pulsar.

How to use this unit

Karganeth

T2
T3
Amphibious
All-Terrain Assault Mech
Metal
2500
Energy
57000
Health
12500
Speed
45
Damage
850
Buildpower
0
Weapons
2x MissileLauncher

The Karganeth is an experimental assault mech equipped with two rapid-fire homing missile launchers (600 range) for ground units, and twin AA launchers for air. Its all-terrain capability lets it crawl up cliffs and steep terrain to gain a tactical advantage.

Its high DPS and versatility make it well-suited for quickly killing individual units.

It's relatively fast and has a good amount of health, but doesn't have as much range as some other experimental units. It also loses out vs. groups of enemies due to its lack of AoE weapons.

How to use this unit

Catapult

T2
T3
Amphibious
Heavy Rocket Bot
Metal
4900
Energy
80000
Health
6100
Speed
48
Damage
600
Buildpower
0
Weapons
MissileLauncher

The Catapult is an experimental heavy rocket bot that fires a barrage of unguided heavy missiles.

Use it to rain hellfire down on your enemy.

It is extremely effective against grouped units and can clear out defensive structures.

How to use this unit

Demon

T2
T3
Amphibious
Flamethrower Mech
Metal
6000
Energy
90000
Health
18000
Speed
63
Damage
1690
Buildpower
0
Weapons
MissileLauncher, Flame

The Demon is a fierce assault mech that lays waste to massed enemy units with twin flamethrowers (500 range). It also packs an anti-air launcher for defending itself from gunships and bombers.

Its insane speed (for a T3), high survivability and firepower make it perfect for spearheading assaults.

It has no resistance to EMP, making spy bots and EMP Bombers effective counters.

How to use this unit

Behemoth

T2
T3
Amphibious
(barely) Mobile Heavy Turret
Metal
20000
Energy
513000
Health
335000
Speed
17
Damage
1121
Buildpower
0
Weapons
3x BeamLaser, DGun

The Behemoth is an experimental mobile heavy canon equipped a powerful disintegrator gun and three secondary beam lasers. While its main cannon lacks the instant-kill power of a Commander's D-Gun ability, it's still able to kill a heavy tank in one blast, and quickly obliterate even the heaviest T3 units.

Use it to spearhead endgame assaults against heavy fortifications.

Behemoths can tank through multiple direct hits from the heaviest weapons and remain combat-effective. They are still vulnerable to being outranged, and have no weapon vs. air units. Keep them well supported with other forces to cover their flanks and weaknesses.

In many cases, they are a better option than Juggernauts, although they lose out in mobility and all-around capability.
How to use this unit

Juggernaut

T2
T3
Amphibious
Experimental Assault Bot
Metal
29000
Energy
615000
Health
149000
Speed
34
Damage
4187
Buildpower
0
Weapons
StarburstLauncher, BeamLaser, 6x Cannon

The Juggernaut is an experimental advanced assault mech and is the most powerful unit among the CORTEX land units. It's armed with

  • The most powerful laser
  • 2 triple-barreled shotguns on each hand
  • A big missile launcher on the back.
If you Self-Destruct it as a last resort, the explosion is almost as powerful as a nuclear missile. The Juggernaut is also immune to EMP.

It doesn't have the most range, but its health and firepower allow it to fight and win against multiple Titans.

Despite its size and power, the Juggernaut is not invulnerable and can be taken down with focused fire from a group of long range units like Pulsars and Starlights or Behemoth at close range.

Overall, the Juggernaut is a fearsome unit that can dominate the battlefield with its sheer size and firepower. Its high cost and slow movement speed make it a risky investment, but in the right hands, it can be a devastating weapon of war.

Escort it with support units and radar and look out for enemy commanders trying to D-Gun it.
How to use this unit