A guide pertaining to the effective use of Shield Bots.

[Guide_ShieldBots]

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Introduction

Very few factories in this game can gain momentum as readily as Shield Bots. They are the only units in the game to boast shields, which allow them to block damage sustained from enemy fire altogether, with a few notable exceptions and weaknesses; but even then, their strengths often allow them to make up for the difference. In particular, all shield-equipped units have the ability to 'link' to other nearby shielded troops, sharing with every unit in the 'chain' some of their power, allowing for an increased efficiency of regeneration for their shields' integrity. The more units linked together, the faster the rate of transfer.

This has given rise to one of the deadliest tactics in all of Zero-K -- the dreaded 'Shield Ball'. When a particularly dense cluster of shield-equipped units gathers together, the combined power of their linked shields reaches levels that can all but nullify enemy fire entirely. Added to this is the fact that each unit possesses its own shield, and that these individual 'bubbles' can overlap each other, so that even if one shield is bypassed, another can still block incoming fire.

(For a full overview of the mechanics of shields, visit this link: http://zero-k.info/Wiki/Shields )

Like Cloaky Bots, however, it is often necessary to field most or all of the units available in the factory at once in order to achieve maximum versatility. Shield Bots can be incredibly easy to counter for anyone who knows what they're doing, so if you're going to be using them, you should know their weaknesses just as well as their strengths, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Fortunately, I've written this guide to store just that sort of information.

Feel free to add whatever you feel is missing to this guide, or contact me at my E-Mail: authorityblade@gmail.com to contribute suggestions. I'm always looking for input from the community, so I can make things like this the best and most comprehensive that they can be.

Strategies/Combos

Shield Ball

It should come as no surprise that the most popular tactic for Shield Bots gets first mention, here.

Thug + Outlaw

Often called 'thuglaw', this tactic combines the firepower and durability of Thugs with the 100% accurate fire support coverage of Outlaws. Thugs provide shields for the Outlaws, who in turn use their disruptor pulsers to deal with fast units that the Thugs might have trouble hitting otherwise, and also slow down anything else that gets close to the group. This tactic is still quite vulnerable to skirmishers, however.

Thug + Outlaw + Felon

Felon + Convict

Rogue + Dirtbag

Rogues possess a high arcing shot that can go over terrain, allowing them to 'fire from behind cover' if they can find the right hill or map feature. To aid this ability, Dirtbags (aka. Cloggers) can be used to give your Rogues that very advantage. Since they leave a fair-sized mound of raised terrain when they die that can block the pathing of bots and vehicles alike, enough Dirtbags in the same general area can create a 'wall' of sorts that most enemy fire cannot get past, whilst your Rogues can arc their rockets over it with ease.

This tactic is very potent when dealing with any enemy unit or structure with a low arc of fire; Defenders, LLTs, Stingers and such in particular. I've managed to kill a Stinger with contemptuous ease by using terraforming to create a wall for my Rogues (although that wasn't Dirtbags that time; but then, the old version of Dirtbags didn't create such an even block of terrain).

Dirtbag - Factory Blocking

The humble Dirtbag doesn't get nearly enough love, in my opinion. Even though he can't attack your enemies, his unique abilities make him very good at annoying your enemy when deployed in the right situation. If you can manage it, have a few Dirtbags run over in your enemy's base, then Jump (J) right in front of their factory doors, then Ctrl + D them. The resulting mound of terraforming will prevent any and all ground units (except Spiderbots) from leaving the factory, forcing your enemy to spend precious time and resources restoring the terrain to normal, and completely stonewalling his unit production until he gets it fixed.
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