C&C 3 Basic Strategy Guides - Scrin Simplified

Understanding Scrin
The new alien race on the block – the Scrin, are the cause of the Tiberium infestation on Earth. They’ve used Tiberium as a means to terra-form the Earth, so you’ve probably guessed that they’re not here for a friendly visit. This alien race is a bit less defined than GDI or Nod; their forces don’t specialize in stealth like Nod does, and neither are their forces the steam-rollers that GDI are. Everything about their units is incredibly different from GDI and Nod, be it their design, their functionality, or their role; and the experience of playing this faction as a whole is different from either one of the two. However, two areas where the Scrin’s forces really stand out are – their incredible base defenses (in the form of Storm Columns and Ion Storms) and their awesome aerial forces. Let’s a take a deeper look at the Scrin units and decipher their use…

Infantry

The Scrin’s basic infantry is nothing like GDI’s Riflemen or Nod’s Militant Squads. The first units you gain access to are Buzzers, which are melee based swarms of razor like creature that chew through any infantry your enemy can throw at you. They’re quite vulnerable to enemy fire though, so to make up for that, they’ve been made quite fast, and have an ability to combine themselves with friendly vehicles. This symbiosis gives them added protection, while saving the vehicles they combine with from infantry attacks, making these units an indispensable part of the Scrin’s army.

These units aren’t strong enough to cause too much destruction by themselves however, so if you want to rush your enemy quick, your best option is the Disintegrator. These units are a cheap way (they cost only $300) of destroying structures and vehicles within seconds, and are extremely effective in large groups early on. In fact, these babies are really important during late game against GDI, since they can take out tanks while the rest of your forces concentrate on other targets.
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Once you build yourself a Nerve Centre, you gain access to Shock Troopers, which should be made instead of Disintegrators from then on. These units are more effective against vehicles, and can take more damage than Disintegrators. What’s more? These guys can even teleport short distances, and once you get their disc attack upgrade, they can even attack air units!

Vehicles

The Scrin’s vehicles are quite weak compared to GDI. They’re comparable to Nod’s vehicular damage absorbing capacity, minus the stealth or speed advantages. In other words, use them as support for your early army only, since they’re no good even when amassed. Units like the Gun Walker or Seeker do a good bit of damage, but can’t absorb much and fall pretty to anti-vehicular units quite easily.

The advanced units include Corruptors and Annihilator Tripods. Corruptors are like flame tanks – great against infantry and vehicles, but quite useless at anything else. Make these only if your enemy has a large amount of infantry units running amok. On the bright side, Annihilator Tripods are the silver-lining in the Scrin’s vehicular cloud – they dish out and absorb a large amount of damage, making them a very effective front line ground unit. Once you get the shield upgrade, they absorb even more damage making them truly indispensable for any Scrin player.
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Now this is where it gets interesting; The Scrin’s air units are by far the most powerful in the game, and have enough versatility to warrant a completely aerial army. The units comprise of Stormriders, Devastators and Planetary Assault Carriers. The Stormriders are decent standard air units that can dish out and take only a little damage. The Devastators on the other hand, are simply awesome; they benefit from the Forcefield Upgrade that you use for Tripods and become pretty hard to kill. They can attack ground units/structures from a large distance, using their energy based disc-like projectiles, that makes them awesome for base attacks. They don’t attack air units however, so ensure that you have sufficient anti-air units to support these babies. If you get yourself a few Planetary Assault Carriers (PACs), you can spawn Ion Storms, which damage enemy units and increase the efficiency of Scrin’s aerial units in its vicinity. These units also carry a butt-load of small attack crafts, which attack anything you target. The PACs are a must have for any aerial assault.

General Strategy

Playing as Scrin requires quite a lot of practice, since it isn’t like playing GDI or Nod. Gaining an understanding of each unit is crucial here, since all units can be effective if used at the right place and time. Disintegrators form an important part of your initial army and are crucial for both base defense and rushes. That’s right, one of the most effective tactics while playing Scrin is a Disintegrator rush. If you get a force of about 30-40 Disintegrators to your enemy’s base early on, your chances at victory will be quite high. To do this you’ll probably need 3-4 Portals and a good economy. Remember one thing while rushing – keep reinforcing your forces, else they’ll diminish in no time and your rush will backfire on you. After a successful rush, remember to press on and stay on the offense to gain the most out of your initial advantage.

If rushing’s not your thing, you can even opt to turtle. Turtling means surrounding yourself with base defenses to ensure that you’re not disturbed, while you take your time to build a sizable powerful force to launch a counter offense. As mentioned before, the Scrin have the best base defenses in the game in the form of Storm Columns. These towers spawn Ion Storms around them, so if you place a few Devastators and PACs in them, you get a pretty much impenetrable wall! These defenses are one of the few things that can stand up against a full blown GDI offensive, so use it to your advantage and build yourself a sizable force to attack your enemy when your defenses thin his forces down.