C&C 3 Basic Strategy Guides - GDI Simplified

Understanding GDI
The Global Defense Initiate (GDI for short) is a peace keeper of sorts in the Command & Conquer universe. These guys are bent on saving humanity from whatever horrendous plans Kane and his Brother of Nod has in-store for it. This ‘stand tall’ and ‘face the enemy head-on’ attitude reflects in GDI’s play style too; GDI’s units are designed in such a way, that they’re really good at holding the line, defending or standing their ground when its required. They’re not too good at hit and run tactics since they’re forces aren’t too mobile (at least most of their forces aren’t), but to make up for this, they’ve got some of the most powerful and damage absorbing units in the game. If you’re new to the game, GDI’s the way to go!

Infantry

GDI’s basic infantry comprises of Riflemen and Missile squads. Their Riflemen are the most unique and arguably the most useful basic infantry of all 3 races; the thing that makes them unique is their ‘Dig in’ ability. For a mere $300, your Riflemen squad sets up a bunker that protects him from enemy fire. Coupled with the cost of the Riflemen squad (that costs $300), you have a bunker you can place anywhere on the map for just $600! Use this to your advantage, and always take Riflemen squads when you’re expanding, defending, or attacking, since their added firepower really helps take out the initial units. Another thing you can do is, once the bunker is built, order the squad to exit it and get a Missile squad inside it – Viola! You’re very own anti-vehicle/aircraft bunker!

The advance infantry units of GDI consist of Grenadier Squads, Snipers and Zone Troopers. Out of the three, the Zone Troopers are my favorite. These guys are basically the Jump Jet Infantry on crack. They have a mini-rail gun that’s effective against small infantry squads as well as vehicles. What makes them extremely important to GDI players is the fact that they’re really mobile, since they have the ability to ‘Jump Jet’ over small obstacles like creeks and small hills. If you’re playing on a relatively smaller map, get these guys early on and send a few squads to harass your enemy. If your enemy doesn’t have adequate defenses, these guys will tear through their Tiberium Harvester and Buildings like a hot knife through butter.
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Lastly, there is the Commando. All I can say is that he’s a complete waste of $2000. He’s pretty fragile early on, and difficult to use – if you’re not used to using him, I suggest you don’t get one at all.

Vehicles

GDI has some of the sturdiest, most damage-absorbing vehicles in the game. GDI’s basic vehicles consist of Predator tanks, Pitbulls and APCs. Predator tanks are undoubtedly the best initial vehicles when it comes to taking out other vehicles/structures early on in the game. These babies chew through their Nod equivalent – the Scorpion tank, like ravenous locusts. Make sure to take quite a few of these if you plan on a major attack on your enemies early on. However, once you get ability to produce Mammoth tanks, don’t bother with Predators anymore.

If you plan on rushing your enemy real quick, what you really need is a mixed force of a few Pitbulls and a lot of APCs. The beauty of APCs is that they carry one squad of any type of basic infantry in them, while allowing the infantry to fire even while inside. Put a bunch of Missile squads in a bunch of APCs, and you have a while mobile anti-vehicle/aircraft squad; put a Grenadier squad inside an APC and you have your mobile anti-garrison building squad – the possibilities are plenty, making the APC GDI’s most versatile unit. The best part about a mix force of Pitbulls and APCs is that they’re really mobile, allowing you to indulge in some hit and run harassment tactics; albeit not as effect as Nod, but good never-the-less. The reason you need Pitbulls is that they detect stealth units, making them extremely important while taking on NOD.
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Last, but not the least, we have GDI’s Mammoth tanks, Rigs, and Juggernauts - these units are what truly make GDI a force to be reckoned with. Once you get the Upgraded Railguns for GDI’s Mammoth tanks, they dish out a shit load of damage that will cripple even the best Nod/Scrin commander. Rigs on the other hand are more supportive units, since the heal friendly vehicles around them and also provide small artillery-ish guns to protect a small radius around them. They can be deployed and re-deployed really quickly, making them priceless while expanding your base. Juggernauts are basically long ranged siege units that need Sniper teams to spot targets for them. We shall discuss the usage of all three in the next section.

**General Strategy
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Playing as the GDI, your biggest strength is the ability to hold ground. Use this to your advantage and expand near other Tiberium fields as soon as possible. When you get hold of a Tiberium field, place a few Riflemen Bunkers and a Rig for added protection, before you get your Surveyor/Mobile Construction Vehicle to your expansion. This ensures that any pesky enemies cannot send small infantry, vehicles or aircrafts to disrupt your expansions.

Don’t be stingy when it comes to making Predator tanks or Zone Troopers though; they’re very effective against other factions, since they have a large amount of hit-points and a damage dealing capacity to match it. Once you reach late game however, you’d want to focus more on your Mammoths and Rigs. Rigs heal your expensive mechanic units, while Mammoths dish out shit loads of damage to both air, and ground units. One thing to remember, is that Mammoth are really expensive, so don’t make too many of them. Instead of making 10 Mammoth tanks, make Three Mammoth tanks with many other types of units to support them. For every 3 Mammoth tanks, make one Rig, one Missile Squad, and a few APCs. Depending on whether you’re up against Nod or not, make Pitbulls to help detect stealth units. Lastly, get a few (maybe 3-4) Juggernauts – these guys have a really long range, and when couple with Sniper teams, they can blow up towers half way around the map at times. Keep them behind all the action, and always command them to attack the slower moving targets. Don’t bother too much with GDI’s air units – they blow! Just use them for support.