Tips

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Below is a list of misc. tips. Feel free to add any you may have.

Quick Start Guide

Infantry Tips

The pop-up menu can be accessed by pressing F (by default).
Join or create a squad to get more rank points. The squad menu is accessed by pressing C (by default). you can also create or join a squad through the squad section of the pop-up menu.
If you've unlocked a skill slot, you may set your skills in your spawn menu (B by default), then return to a barracks or armory or friendly flag to activate it.
Much like changing your class, setting or changing a skill "on the fly" does not immediately activate it. You must return to the barracks or armory or friendly flag. Once inside, bring up the spawn menu and click Accept. Be advised that your ammo will reset and you will need to stop by the crates and fill up again.
You can change your class near a captured flag just like you would inside the barracks or armory: bring up your spawn menu, make any changes and click "Accept".
Any class can help build buildings with their USE key, Engineers are just much more efficient.
See the full-size map by pressing M (by default).
To set your spawn location, hit Enter (by default) and click on one of your Barracks or APCs, represented by a small circle.
Engineers are the backbone of a team, but they can be particularly vulnerable while building things. If you see the sparks that signify construction, now is a good time for an ambush.
Listen for the 'click' of an ammunition crate being opened. When someone is loading up on supplies, chances are good that they aren't paying attention to you. Take advantage of this and catch them off-guard.
Crouching is a useful movement during infantry combat, it makes you smaller, and it gives you a boost to accuracy. However, you'd lose some mobility.

Class-Specific Tips

See the class page for each of the following for class tips.

Commander Tips

Use Mouse Wheel to zoom the camera.
Hold down ALT and move the mouse to rotate the camera view.
Press E to exit commander mode.
When placing a structure, hold the left mouse button to rotate the building.
Do not use the Comm Vehicle (CV) as personal transport or your team will get very angry. Only move the CV when absolutely neccessary and always inform your team so they know where they need to defend.
If you do need to move the CV for any reason then be very careful around cliffs and water. Many a game has been ended by merely a flipped or waterlogged CV and it really isn't much fun when they do.
Don't be afraid to lock the Vehicle Factory if you need to conserve resources. But make sure your team is capable of defending without vehicles if you do so.
Units can be given orders by highlighting them (left click on them) and then right clicking on the unit you would like to see destroyed or guarded. Send someone to guard an unfinished building and most people will finish the construction as well as guard the structure.
Your minions are extremely grateful when you help them out. For example, your god-like eye in the sky view allows you to keep an eye on your units, but more importantly you can keep an eye on the enemy. Of course you can only see the enemy when a friendly unit is near or surveillance equipment has been placed, but this can still be very useful. If you see an enemy approaching your friendly unit, target the enemy for your unit as described above, they will find it much easier to destroy the enemy, because the red targeting symbol will let them know where that enemy unit is before he can even see him. Your unit might have been totally unaware of the approaching danger, but he is now in a much better position to defend himself.
Make sure you are always researching something or your technology will quickly fall behind the enemy team and that will usually spell disaster.

Advanced Commander Tips and Tactics

General Commander Strategy

Frontlining: Spread out onto the map, gaining forward bases to hold that area, fortify these, and push from there. This is great for boxing your enemies in, but it really does require a responsive team.

Strong points: Good for boxing in enemies, tends to be good at keeping tickets up, and very good when mixed with arty.

Weak points: Needs a better team than usual. Can be weak against ninjaneers as having concentrated front lines often leaves CV undefended with no players near.

Turtle-ing: Fortify your base in the starting area, and don't push out much. It does work better with players that sit around in base being unresponsive, but unless you get the jump on your enemies early with fast vehicles, you are dead.

Strong points: Well defended against enemies as it's concentrated, and often in a balanced position to send out vehicles from. Good vs. ninjas as everyone is at your base ready to defend the CV. Can employ ninjas because the enemies don't tend to dig in as much.

Weak points: Difficult to defend refineries. You'll die if the enemy gets arty: concentrated mid-range defenses against long-range arty will almost always mean the defenses lose. It's harder to destroy the enemy from a long way away from their CV.

Relocating: Relocate at the very start of the match. Run to another place to try and get the element of surprise, and disrupt the enemy comm's plans. It doesn't tend to work very well against a flexible enemy comm who can roll with the blows and adapt to what you are doing quickly, and can be very bad if you let yourself get boxed in. Don't even try this unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Strong points: Can confuse the enemies, they aren't used to the enemy main base being somewhere else. Works well with a light tank rush if you relocate properly.

Weak points: If you do it wrong you've lost your team the game. If you waste too much time you've lost your team the game as the enemies will be able to take much more of the map much faster and get the jump on you in research, refs and vehicles, and then box you in until you die.

Consider where you place your turrets. Don't place turrets in extremely high or low elevations, such as on the top slopes of Duststorm, as infantry can sneak below them easily without triggering them and then disarm the turrets. Don't place turrets too close to buildings, such as refineries. If you do, you risk letting enemies assault the building while staying easily outside of the turret range. When in large spaces, place turrets in ambush positions. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to destroy the turret before getting in range. Consider placing turrets behind walls. When in small spaces, maximize the turret firing arc. Place the turret in the most central position, where it can fire everywhere in the area. In best case scenarios, an enemy unit should not be able to fire at the turret without entering it's range.

Identify a map's chokepoints, and try to force the enemy to assault those. For a detailed analysis of each map and it's critical points, see the "Maps" section.

General Vehicle Tips

Always try to travel in teams, two tanks are much more likely to win a battle than one and are also more likely to spot the enemy before he gets too close. Another benefit of this system is the ability to occupy the enemy whilst your partner repairs and rearms both of you.
Try to be considerate with your use of resources when you build a vehicle. Just one tricked out tank can severely hurt a teams resources, so remember you will lose as well in the end.
If you need to hop out to do something in enemy territory, turn your vehicle to face your escape route and give you cover before you jump out. Then, when that artillery tank rolls around the corner, you will be able to escape much more quickly.
Don't fire as quickly as you can or you will overheat. Always try to allow yourself some space on the heat bar in case the battle suddenly swings towards the enemies favour and you have to make a quick escape. There is nothing more frustrating than an overheating vehicle when all you want to do is drive away.
Don't be afraid to retreat, often it can draw the enemy into friendly turret space or allow time for a friendly unit to assist you.
Check that the vehicle you are about to drive away is not somebody elses ride or you won't make very many friends on a server.
If you plan to use vehicles a lot in a game, try to select complementary skills when you are promoted or you might as well not have them.
A well upgraded light tank will beat a normal heavy tank, so choose your vehicle and upgrades carefully.

Advanced Vehicle Tips and Tactics

Vehicle customization guide

Advanced Tips

Binding Items from the Pop-Up Menu

Commands from the pop-up menu (default 'f') can also be accessed via console commands (as of 1.08, RC18). This allows them to be bound to keys, for more speedy usage. The console command to use is "emp_menu_quickcmd <menu #> <command #>". Use the number of the menu, and the number of the command within that menu. An index of available menu and command numbers is given below:

1 PLAYER_SPECIFIC_FRIENDLY (if a friendly is under your crosshairs)
	0 "Guard this unit"
	1 Resupply (Guard diamond, no sound)
	3 Repair/heal (Guard diamond, no sound)
2 PLAYER_SPECIFIC_ENEMY (if an enemy is under your crosshairs)
	0 "Spotted ..."
	1 "Requesting anti-emplacement/armor support"
	3 "Attack this target" (was Grenade attack)
	4 "Attack this target"
3 PLAYER_SPECIFIC_GROUND (if something neutral is under your crosshairs)
	0 Does nothing (was Move)
	1 "Move to this location" (was Build)
	2 "Move to this location"
	3 "Attack this location" (was Grenade/mine)
	4 "Move to this location" (was Dig-in)
4 PLAYER_GLOBAL
	0 "Area secure"
	4 "Area is not secure"
5 PLAYER_LOCAL
	0 "Move up"
	1 "Take cover"
	2 Taunt
	3 "Cover fire"
	4 "Pull back"
6 PLAYER_SQUAD
	0 invite to squad command (must have clicked on player, local player must be in squad)
	0 request to join squad command (if local player is not in squad and clicked on player is in a squad)
	1 do squad leader power #1 (if you are a squad leader)
	2 vote the commander out
	3 do squad leader power #2 (if you are a squad leader)
	4 force leave squad command (if squad leader and clicked player are in same squad)
	4 leave squad (if no one clicked on and local player is in a squad)
7 PLAYER_GLOBAL_SUPPORT
	0 Request air support
	1 Request artillery support
	2 Request armor support
	3 Request infantry support
	4 Request transport
8 PLAYER_GLOBAL_SUPPLIES
	1 Request ammo
	3 Request healing/repairs
	4 Request an engineer
9 PLAYER_ACK
	0 Confirm order
	1 "Negative"
	3 "Roger"
	4 Deny/Cancel order

Note
Some commands are context-sensitive, changing in function depending on what is under your crosshairs at the time.

For example, in order to bind the 'x' key to call for a medic, the following line should be added to autoexec.cfg or infantry.cfg:

bind "x" "emp_menu_quickcmd 8 3"

Binding Items from the Engineer's Tool

Commands from the Engineer's Tool (Calculator) can also be accessed via console commands. This allows them to be bound to keys, for more speedy usage. An index of available commands is given below:

"engselect 0-7" : Works only with calculator in hand and readies an item to be built (must still be placed)
	0 : Nothing Selected
	1 : MG Turret
	2 : ML Turret
	3 : Undroppable ML Turret, possibly anti-aircraft turret
	4 : Engineer Camera
	5 : Engineer Radar
	6 : Walls
	7 : Ammo Box
"emp_eng_upgrade" : Upgrades own turret in crosshairs (with turret upgrade)
"emp_eng_recycle_1" : Remote recycles primary turret
"emp_eng_recycle_2" : Remote recycles secondary turret (with turret mastery)
"emp_eng_recycle_3" : Remote recycles engineer camera
"emp_eng_recycle_4" : Remote recycles engineer radar
"emp_eng_recycle_walls" : Recycles all walls placed by the individual across the map

For example, in order to bind the 'F2' key to recycle the primary turret (if any) and place a ML turret, the following line should be added to engineer.cfg or infantry.cfg:

bind "F2" "emp_eng_recycle_1;engselect 2"

How Not to Play Empires

The Noob's Guide to Empires outlines many of the strategies to take in playing Empires when one wishes to play as poorly as possible. It is a satirical look at the way new players interact with various facets of the game. They often do so in ways which outline how poor at the game they are. If you wish to avoid some of the main mistakes new players make while playing Empires, please read this Guide.

Chat variables

You can use the following variables in chat, they will be replaced before being sent to other players:

	key - meaning (default)
	%_n - name
	%_c - class (Unassigned)
	%_h - health (1)
	%_l - squad leader (Squad Leader)
	%_m - commander (Commander)
	%_s - squad name (Noobs)
	%_r - research (Nothing) -- commander only
	%_R - research time (0) -- commander only
	%_w - current weapon (N/A)
	%_x	- current grid letter
	%_y - current grid number