You see a new game. You see it is FREE! You installed it, play skirmish/multiplayer, next next next, and suddenly, you don't know what to do.

Or maybe you've played RTS before. You've played SupCom, all of it, from original, FA, and Supcom2. And Planetary Annihilation. And Ashes of Singularity. You think, "this is another TA clone". But all of sudden you struck with confusion because there is so many factories, so many unit, and you don't know what to build.

First thing first, welcome fellow players.
Thanks to install Zero-K. And may this great game continue to prosper.

Zero-K is RTS game with many buildings and units unlocked from the start. While it's mind-boggling at first, it's actually have some general strategy what to build first, especially for starting players like us.

I myself are not pro players. I've play Zero-K for 100 hours (non steam ver), but only Level 3, and can only defeat Easy AI (that's why this guide only aiming at defeating at most Easy AI). I only done multiplayer once. I seldom watch pro players, so I'm not actively learn to improve myself. So if you see in my guide one of "beginner mistake" or "bad habit", please let me know in the comment.

Compared to SupCom, seeing so many factories with so many icons can and will confuse new players. While it maybe worthwhile to remember what icons refer to what class and what unit (compare to SupCom, the difference between unit class icon is quite far), for newer player, I suggest to only remember six basic classes.

• 1. Raider
  Cheap, squishy, spammy. Use it as scout, or, in later game, as meat shield. Or cannon fodder. Main characteristic of Raider is you can build it A LOT.
  
  
• 2. Skirmisher
  Mobile range unit. Usually outranges every other classes except artillery and static defense. If other classes are your footman, spearman, and knight, then this is your horse archer.
  
  
• 3. Riot
  DPS/AOE unit. If you face a lot of raider, then this is your guy.
  
  
• 4. Assault
  Heavy unit. The heaviest, meanest, toughest guy. It can wreck base like there is no tomorrow. Be wary, it's also slowest than other class.
  
  
• 5. Artillery
  Well... artillery... what you expect? Outranges every other class. Also outranges every static defense. That's why, if you have problem with laser tower or missile tower or any tower, you can depend on this guy.
  
  
• 6. Anti Air
  Shoot air. Nothing much else to say.

Of course there's so many unit that don't fit in any category or have multiple categories. But remembering those six is a good start. And next section will cover how to actually remember all of these.

Even remembering six basic classes, how to remember what unit is what class? What is Scythe class? Dirtbag? Thug? Anyother else?
Fear not, because you don't have to.
Thankfully, Zero-K developer do have a way to help us remembering unit classes:

EVERY FACTORY HAVE SAME CLASS LAYOUT.
EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF THEM.

See images below:


There's actually a pattern. The left on top row is always a Constructor, followed by Raider, followed by Skirmisher, etc etc etc. Here's the details on it:

• 1. Constructor
  
• 2. Raider
  
• 3. Skirmisher
  
• 4. Riot
  
• 5. Assault
  
• 6. Artillery
  
  
• 7. Another Raider
  This Raider usually have same capability for raiding as other Raider, but different approach.
  For example, in Cloakbot, Scythe is ninja-melee-stealth Raider, while Glaive is your common normal Raider.
  Another example, in Rover, Dart is cheaper and faster, while Scorcher is tougher.
  
• 8. Anti Air
  
• 9. Heavy
  This class is for units that are really, REALLY heavy, or unit that have specials that can turn the tides of battle. Usually most expensive and slowest compared to other fellow at same factory, but VERY awesome to have.
  
• 10. Special
  Active support belongs here. For example, mobile mines or unit-that-can-capture-another-unit are belong here.
  
• 11. Utility
  More passive support, like cloak generator or shield generator belong here.
  
  Of course, not all of these categories are correct for every units. But, gameplay wise, they do share similarity here and there.

This section is intended to be quick review about factories, without going into too much details about what factories doing what.

You start your game. You choose your commander and position.
You've spawned. You want to build your first factory.
But which one?

Following the general noob-friendly flow of battle, there's usually four categories of factories:
First, sea-first, second, and specialized

The first factory, that's it, the factory you want to build after you spawn, is usually these:

• Cloakbot
  
  Why build this
  The cheapest. You want a factory that has very cheap, spammable unit. Quantity beat quality.
  Later, you can make your unit stealthy by building mobile stealth generator.
  And you can build ninja sniper.
  
  
• Shieldbot
  
  Why build this
  The second cheapest. You want a factory that has durable unit for starting factory PLUS shield on top of said durability.
  Later, due to shield overlapping with another shield adds more durability, you want to steamroll.
  
  
• Rover
  
  Why build this
  The most expensive of starter factories, but not of all factories.
  You want factory that is not only jack, but also can be aces of all trade. VERY versatile.

If you start in watery area and want to reach you enemy via water, consider start with these two:

• Amphibious
  
  Why build this
  Frogman division of naval warfare. You want unit that not only have partial stealth (all of them are underwater when not firing), but also more durable than Hover.
  
  
• Hover
  
  Why build this
  You want speed and alpha strike rather than durability.

After building your first factory, if you have good economy and want more, considering build these:

• Rover
  
  Why build this
  "Silly you, you already put Rover as first factory".
  Yes. But it is also good choice for second factory.
  You build Cloakbot and want some durability? Build Rover.
  You build Shieldbot and want artillery? Build Rover.
  You build Rover? Then don't build second Rover, duh ._.
  
  
• Tank
  
  Why build this
  You meet with tough enemy and cannot, or don't want, to use fancy tricks or strategies or whatsoever. You just want direct confrontation, like a man.
  Gentlemen, I offer you the tank factory, the TOUGHEST, MEANIEST bad boys in universe.
  It very expensive, though, so backup those baddies with good economy.
  
  
• Gunship
  
  Why build this
  You want air support. DEATH FROM ABOVE!
  Different from from airplane, you want your guardian angel to stay in the air.
  
  
• Airplane
  
  Why build this
  You have a target. You want this target to be dead, no matter the cost (that means your unit will be dead too).
  And you want to deliver this quick-death by air.

Anything except listed above will be considered specialized, because it is not everyday choice, requires more tactics to use them, and depends on situation and condition to effectively use them. These are:

• Jumpbot
  
  Why build this
  Between you and your enemy, there's this obstacle. You want to literally jump the obstacle.
  
  
• Spiderbot
  
  Why build this
  You have seen Spider-Man. You inspired by it. You want the battle to be done not in flat terrain, not in water, not even in the air, but in the cliff.
  
  
• Ship
  
  Why build this
  You want total superiority on the water.

In this section, I will try to explain factories and units in more details from the viewpoint of a noob. It will be very subjective, so advice and critics are very welcome.

First, I will use something like true-class, false-class, and not-class.

True-class means that unit behaviour is exactly as you expect for that class. For example, almost every units from Cloakbot doesn't have any weird feature that differ them for typical class designation.

False-class means that unit still doing their role, but have some quirk that makes them not behave like other class. For example, Lance from Hoverbot Platform is an Artillery class, but different from other Artillery (that usually has arcing and slow projectile), Lance has insta hit, straight laser. It still outrange anyother units from Hover, hence, false-Artillery.

Not-class means that unit have very little resemblance for that class build slot. For example, Tremor in Tank Factory, although it resides in Utility slot, it's not Utility. It's more like Heavy Artillery. It does have Utility functionality (it can flat terrain).

Second, I will comment some unit, but often not. Units that have no comment means that their behaviour will be (almost) exactly what you expect for their role.

• Cloakbot
  
  For land starting factories, only Cloakbot has full build slot for every class. What's more, true unit for every class. It means its Raider is true-Raider, its Skirmisher is true-Skirmisher, etc. Only Shieldbot come close, but their Riot is not true-Riot (only good at slow down enemies) and their Artillery is not true-Artillery (can only disarm, no damage at all). That's why it's the perfect factory for new players (not to add that they're the factory that cheapest, spammiest in unit production).
  
  • Constructor: Conjurer
    Conjurer is cloaked aka stealth.
    
  • Raider: Glaive and Scythe
    Scythe is expensive for a good reason. It's stealthed, and while its weapon only has melee range, its weapon damage is good, only second to Reaver, the Riot-class of the factory. It also has regen when it's out of battle.
    
  • Skirmisher: Ronin
    
  • Riot: Reaver
    
  • Assault: Knight
    
  • Artillery: Sling
    
  • Anti Air: Gremlin
    Gremlin is cloaked aka stealth
    
  • Heavy: Phantom
    Not heavy in terms of survivability. For it class, Phantom are quite squishy. Its health are lower than Scythe, and it's also slow.
    But if you see that it's stealth, its weapon outrange any other Skirmishers and static defenses (minus Cerberus and Big Bertha), whooping 1500 damage, and stay cloaked when firing, you'll see which one of his part is "heavy".
    
  • Special: Imp
    Mobile EMP mine. Deliver no damage at all, but you can stun enemies with it.
    
  • Utility: Iris
    Mobile area cloaker.
  
  
• Shieldbot
  
  Not all unit has shield. Only Constructor, Assault, Heavy, and Utility has them. But still, their units generally quite tough.
  Tips: If you have hard time catching your enemies (maybe you meet Cloakbot), build Riot (Outlaw). It'll slow them down.
  
  • Constructor: Convict
    Convict is shielded
    
  • Raider: Bandit and Dirtbag
    Dirtbag is almost not-Raider, close to be an Utility. It's still cheap scout. Although it can attack, its damage is so low and with only melee range, it's laughable. It main feature is when it's dead, it will deploy some dirt on its grave (hence, Dirtbag).
    Surprisingly, it has more health than Bandit.
    
  • Skirmisher: Rouge
    
  • Riot: Outlaw
    Outlaw is false-Riot. Compared to other Riot, Outlaw need some assistance from other class to kill enemies. Its weapon is only good at slowing down enemies, helping others kill it. Its weapon do deliver some damage, but it's too low.
    
  • Assault: Thug
    Thug is shielded. And one of main units (if not the main unit) of Shieldbot Fac. Shield overlapping with another shield will increase its durability, so a mob of Thugs is not laughable at all.
    
  • Artillery: Racketeer
    Racketeer is false-Artillery. It can only disarm enemies, delivering no damage at all.
    
  • Anti Air: Vandal
    
  • Heavy: Felon
    Felon is little funny. It's shielded, but its weapon draw energy from its shield. So if Felon is unsupported from another shield (Thug or Aspis), its shield will be down in no time.
    Supported, Felon does life its class as Heavy. Good HP, shielded, pretty amazing DPS for its weapon.
    
  • Special: Snitch
    Mobile bomb. Be careful when clumping these guys together. Its explosion can friendly-fire even to another Snitch, making chain reaction.
    
  • Utility: Aspis
    Mobile shield generator.
  
  
• Rover
  
  
  • Constructor: Mason
    
  • Raider: Scorcher and Dart
    Dart is very cheap, second only to Dirtbag (Shieldbot), making it very spammable.
    
  • Skirmisher: Fencer
    I want to put Fencer into false-Skirmisher, simply because it need to be stopped to firing its missile.
    
  • Riot: Ripper
    Ripper's cannon can flat terrain.
    
  • Assault: Ravager
    
  • Artillery: Badger
    Badger is false-Artillery. It's effective against unit, not so much against static defense (but still can). Its projectile will create a mine that will trigger when enemy are near it. Its mine have lifetime of a minute (quite long), so if you want, you can deploy a minefield by utilizing multiple Badgers.
    
  • Anti Air: Crasher
    
  • Heavy: Impaler
    Rover's Heavy-class is Impaler, a Heavy Artillery.
    
  • Special: Dominatrix
    Dominatrix purpose is to capture anothers. Multiple Dominatrix will capture faster, but only one will claim it's control. Do note that the time needed to capture enemy is based on its cost, not health.

• Amphibious
  
  All units from this factory will regen when they're underwater.
  
  • Constructor: Conch
    Conch have build power is 1.5x more powerful than other common constructors.
    
  • Raider: Duck and Archer
    Duck stay underwater when attack from water, when Archer must float to attack.
    
  • Skirmisher: Buoy
    
  • Riot: Scallop
    
  • Artillery: Lobster
    Lobster is false-Artillery, if not even an Utility (making it not-Artillery). A hillarious unit. Instead of delivering damage to enemies, Lobster throws your unit.
    
  • Anti Air: Angler
    
  • Heavy: Grizzly
    Grizzly is Heavy with role similar to Assault. Tough and slow, Grizzly cannot fire its weapon while it underwater. Instead, it will float first to fire its weapon, so watch out for surface weapons.
    
  • Special: Limpet
    Limpet is Mobile Slow Bomb that can damage enemies and, at the same time, slowing them.
    
  • Utility: Djinn
    Djinn is Amphibious Bridge. Travel Djinn first to the destination, then deploy Djinn. Put your cursor on bridge's source, wait for a moment, and Djinn's bridge will be ready to be used.
  
  
• Hover
  
  Almost all units have terrible rate-of-fire, but amazing damage.
  
  • Constructor: Quill
    
  • Raider: Dagger
    Like typical Hover unit, Dagger's rate of fire is bad but delivers a high damage.
    
  • Skirmisher: Scalpel
    
  • Riot: Mace
    
  • Assault: Halberd
    
  • Artillery: Lance
    I want to say Lance is false-Artillery. It's have good range, like typical Artillery. But unlike common Artillery, it doesn't have arcing projectile.
    
  • Anti Air: Flail
    
  • Special: Claymore
    Claymore is dedicated Anti-Sub. It deliver depth-charge that can only deployed on the water.

• Tank
  
  
  • Constructor: Welder
    Welder build power is 1.5x others common Constructor. Also, Welder armed with mini laser, provides a little defense against Raider.
    
  • Raider: Blitz and Kodachi
    
  • Riot: Ogre
    
  • Assault: Minotaur
    
  • Artillery: Emissary
    
  • Anti Air: Ettin
    
  • Heavy: Cyclops
    Cyclops is, simply, Very Heavy Tank. Treat it like Assault class; slow, tough, very damaging weapon.
    
  • Utility: Tremor
    Tremor located in Utility slot, but it's not-Utility. Except if you consider the ability to flat earth via artillery...
    Tremor is closely resembled Heavy Artillery.
    My advice, play with Inactive AI. Build Tremor. Fire anywhere. You'll see why there's "Saturation" on its middle name.
  
  
• Gunship
  
  Different from Airplane, Gunship requires no Airpad to reload.
  
  • Constructor: Wasp
    Wasp has 1.5x more build power than others common Constructor.
    
  • Raider: Locust and Gnat
    Locust can regen out of battle, while Gnat can stun.
    
  • Skirmisher: Harpy
    Harpy's weapon can slowdown enemies
    
  • Riot: Blastwing
    Blastwing is in Riot slot, but not-Riot. It's more like Special class.
    It's like a Mobile Napalm Bomb. It deliver damage-over-time when destroyed.
    
  • Assault: Revenant
    
  • Artillery: Nimbus
    It's on Artillery slot, but it's false-Artillery. One thing why it's on Artillery slot is its range are above any Gunship (except Trident, the Anti-Air).
    
  • Anti Air: Trident
    
  • Heavy: Krow
    Krow is Flying Fortress, with role similar to Assault. The heaviest Heavy and an air-unit, Krow is win-button if your opponent doesn't offer good anti air.
    
  • Special: Charon
    On Special slot is Charon, an Air Transport.
    
  • Utility: Hercules
    Resides in Utility slot is Hercules, an Armored Air Transport. It's tougher than Charon and has twin laser guns.
  
  
• Airplane
  
  
  • Constructor: Crane
    One of weakest of all Constructor, its build power is only 0.8x others common Constructor.
    
  • Raider: Swift and Raptor
    Swift can engage both land and air, while Raptor is dedicated air superiority fighter.
    
  • Riot: Phoenix
    Phoenix deliver Napalm damage over a wide area.
    
  • Assault: Raven
    Raven deliver precision bomb over a small area. Its damage are quite high.
    
  • Heavy: Likho
    Likho's warhead is heavy, a Singularity Bomb. It's like a mini-nuke.
    
  • Special: Thunderbird
    Thunderbird is not like any self-destructing Special. Instead, it delivers lightning that can disables enemies below it.
    
  • Utility: Owl
    Owl is Mobile Radar/Sonar/Jammer. Not only it can provides intel on enemies, it also jam friendlies if they happen to be under Owl.

• Jumpbot
  
  
  • Constructor: Constable
    The other weakest of all Constructor, it shares with Crane for having only 0.8x build power. It has slowing beam, though.
    
  • Raider: Pyro and Puppy
    Pyro has piercing flamethrower, while Puppy... oh dear... you must try Puppy yourself. There's a reason Puppy is called "Walking Missile".
    
  • Skirmisher: Moderator
    Not only damaging enemy, Moderator can also slow them.
    
  • Riot: Placeholder
    Placeholder is false-Riot unit. Instead of DPS/area damage like other true-Riots, it fulfilling its capability to crowd-control (like other Riots) by delivering mini-Black Hole, sucking any units nearby.
    
  • Assault: Jack
    Jack is Melee Assault. Once again, it's Melee. Close your distance by jumping, and smack them.
    
  • Artillery: Firewalker
    Firewalker delivers very wide napalm bombardment, making it a very good choice for area denila.
    
  • Anti Air: Toad
    
  • Heavy: Jugglenaut
    Jugglenaut is Heavy Support. Its weapon do too little damage (below 1, almost nothing). Instead, it can attract and repel. If you jumping, its landing will damage anything, though.
    
  • Special: Skuttle
    Skuttle is Mobile Bomb.
  
  
• Spiderbot
  
  
  • Constructor: Weaver
    Weaver is provides 1.5x build power. And has small radar.
    
  • Raider: Flea and Venom
    Flea is good scout. It's cloaked. Don't rely on it when on combat, it'll do little close-combat damage.
    Venom do stun damage. Also, its stun surprisingly also has small AoE.
    
  • Skirmisher: Recluse
    
  • Riot: Redback
    
  • Assault: Hermit
    
  • Anti Air: Tarantula
    
  • Heavy: Crab
    I can say nothing about Crab... Usually, unit like Crab are treated like Assault. But Crab designation are Heavy Riot/Skirmisher. Oh well...
    
  • Special: Widow
    Widow is Cloaked, makes it has the potential to be good scout. Second, Widow has stun weapon, makes it also a good support.
  
  
• Ship
  
  
  • Constructor: Mariner
    Mariner has 1.5x buildpower.
    
  • Raider: Hunter and Cutter
    Hunter has Anti-Sub capability.
    
  • Skirmisher: Mistral
    
  • Riot: Corvette
    
  • Assault: Siren
    Siren has Anti-Sub capability.
    
  • Artillery: Envoy
    
  • Anti Air: Zephyr
    
  • Special: Seawolf
    Seawolf is submarine, making it stealth if enemies has bad sonar (underwater detector).

And that's it!
That's the end of this guide.

See also my another guide:
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1380985640
If you think this guide should cover anything, or anything wrong within it, please message me.
Critics and advice are always welcome.

Thank you for reading it.