Empire at War Gameplay Tips: Imperial Forces

Top Tips For Crushing The Rebellion

Apr 5, 2009 Andrew Hemphill

Hardcore gamers still battle it out across the Empire at War universe, and with these tips, taking on the pros will be as as easy as bulls-eying wamp-rats in a T16.

The Empire’s faction in Empire at War (EAW) relies on brute force, heavy firepower and legions of armoured units to win both space and ground battles. This style of play, however, leaves the faction open to the guerrilla tactics favoured by the Rebellion, forcing the two into a loggerhead.

Empire at War: Imperial Space Combat Tips

The Empire relies on large, powerful and obscenely expensive craft, ranging in size from the smaller Tartan cruiser to the might of an Imperial Star Destroyer. The large cost and long production time of these mighty vessels is one of the main problems with the Imperial navy, so gamers should be careful not to waste forces on pointless attacks

Combined fleets – The Star Destroyer is a mighty war machine, but without adequate fighter and frigate support three squadrons of Y-Wings can pick them apart in minutes.

To counter this, gamers should pair larger ships with Tartan patrol cruisers and have those cruisers guard the larger ships. Gamers can then concentrate on picking Rebel frigates and capital ships apart, rather than fending off the (usually considerable) Rebel fighter fleets.

Bombers - Unlike the Rebel forces, Imperial fleets do not need to build fighters separately, as each ship comes with its own squadron. Gamers, upon entering the system, should deploy all the bomber wings into the nearest blind spot, such as a nebula, to shield them from the Rebel guns.

Then, while the Rebels take on the larger ships, gamers can move the bombers to attack important strong points such as shield generators on space stations or to disable the engines of the Rebel capital ships, as Rebels rely on the high speed of their ships.

Wedge formation – The slow speed of Imperial spacecraft does not allow for the fast hit-and-run tactics of the Rebellion. Instead, Imperial gamers should try, wherever possible, to group Imperial craft into a wedge and advance on the enemy at the same time.

Grouping units will allow the Empire to approach the enemy positions with all the different frigate and capital ships automatically firing at the unit they are more suitable for attacking. Then, once the fleet has moved into effective range, the various elements can split off and use their special abilities to full effect.

Empire at War: Imperial Ground Combat Tips

The Imperial ground units suffer the same flaws as the space units- they are expensive, slow and prone to long-range attacks from missile batteries. To counter this, Imperial gamers should instead rely on scouting the area and moving slowly to avoid ambushes.

Scouting – Each Imperial ground force should consist of several heavy units backed up by at least artillery unit and two or three units of scouts. These will allow the gamer to check the area the heavier units are moving into prior to actually advancing, and save on units lost to hidden PLEX troopers or the irritation of a Rebel missile battery.

The scouts are also useful for taking on the missile batteries themselves, as two of the thermal detonators dropped by their special ability will usually spell the end of the lightly armoured missile battery or even a tightly-grouped unit of Rebel infantry.

Two units – In later tech levels, the Imperial gamer will gain access to one of the Empire’s most powerful weapons- the AT-AT. This mighty beast is capable of absorbing tonnes of damage, but is especially vulnerable to missile batteries, PLEX units and speeders.

To counter this, gamers, upon disembarking from the transports, should assign the AT-AT’s a destination and set them off, as the AT-AT is an ungainly beast and often struggles to turn around. At the same time, a smaller unit consisting of AT-ST’s, TIE Maulers and Stormtroopers should be under the direct control of the gamer and used to take on all enemies which might be a problem for the AT-AT’s, as well as capturing and holding important strategic points and turrets.

This approach allows the AT-AT the protection and time they need to move to a Rebel base, while under the protection of a smaller ‘fast-attack’ unit.

Empire at War: Imperial Galactic Conquest Tips

Galactic Conquest is a large portion of the game and proves a fair challenge due to its fast pace, constant micro-management and endless strategic potential. While the Imperial forces often start out with more planets than the Rebels, the slow speed of the majority of Imperial fleets can often leave the Imperial gamer one or two steps behind.

Sector control – When playing Galactic Conquest, Imperial gamers should take pains to secure a ‘sector’ of the galaxy by creating and reinforcing particular planets along trade and hyperspace routes.

For example, if the Imperial gamer starts in the upper-right section of the galactic map, the gamer should focus on taking planets running down the middle, creating a boundary between two halves of the galaxy. These planets should be reinforced with considerable defences, space stations and planetary defences, so that the Rebels in either side of the galaxy will not be able to combine forces.

By taking this approach, gamers can concentrate on one side of the galaxy at a time, and use one large space fleet and one large ground assault fleet to ‘pacify’ planets quickly, before turning to the other side of the galaxy.

Planetary discretion – Each planet often has its own set of tactical modifiers that can be both a great bonus for an attacking force, but also a thorn in the Empire’s side.

Gamers should choose to capture important planets early, such as planets which offer improved speed for mechanised units and extra health for infantry, as well as capturing planets needed for the construction of capital ships.

By capturing key strategic planets, the Imperial gamer can remove advantages Rebels would find very useful and turn the tide of battle with a specialised set of tactical modifiers.

Read Tips For Playing As The Rebel Alliance Here.

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