Rock, Paper, Scissors: RPS in the RTS

In order to plan effective battle tactics, you must first learn the overriding tenets of real-time strategy games. They follow the very general format of “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” where one element type counters another. The “rocks, paper, and scissors” in question are “infantry, air units, and ground vehicles.” The following is a complete overview of how these advantages and disadvantages work in the UNSC and Covenant armies.

Note

The following revelations include two terms: “advantageous” and “highly advantageous.” A unit that is “advantageous” to use when attacking another unit usually wins a battle with around 40 percent of its force remaining afterward. For example, if ten units attack ten foes they are advantageous against, expect four of the advantageous units to still be alive at the fight’s end. From this point on, the term “advantageous” is indicated by the greater-than > symbol.

A unit that is “highly advantageous” to use when attacking another unit usually wins a battle with around 80 percent of its force remaining afterward. For example, if ten units attack ten foes they are advantageous against, expect eight of the advantageous units to still be alive at the fight’s end. From this point on, the term “highly advantageous” is replaced with the much-greater-than symbol >>.

General Halo Wars RPS Facts

The following diagram shows the basic advantages each of the three unit types have over each other. This applies to all the different classes, unless specified otherwise:

Mainline Infantry Units > Mainline Air Units > Mainline Ground Units > Mainline Infantry Units

The UNSC’s mainline infantry are Marines, advantageous when dealing with Covenant Banshees.

This shows that each army’s mainline infantry units are highly advantageous at taking out air units. Mainline air units are highly advantageous at taking out ground vehicles. Mainline ground vehicles are highly advantageous at taking out infantry units. “Mainline” indicates the main troop type trained or built, as detailed below.

The UNSC’s anti-infantry units are Flamethrowers, highly advantageous when dealing with all Covenant infantry.

When you’re dealing with a counter-unit (or an “anti” unit), the general facts are different. First, a counter-unit has a specific enemy type it is geared toward defeating. It is always highly advantageous at defeating this unit type, but unfortunately, it is also always highly disadvantageous when facing the two other mainline unit types it isn’t specialized against. For example, Flamethrowers are anti-infantry, meaning they are highly advantageous at countering every other infantry type on the battlefield, but expect heavy losses when pitching them against any mainline vehicle or air unit.