How to build an empire from the ashes in Apoc Wars - hints, tips, and tricks

After spending a fair amount of time playing Apoc Wars, I think I can confidently call myself a veteran of this post-apocalyptic strategy game.

So, I decided to spend a little more time with the game in order to put together a dandy little guide.

You know, to help newbies to the game get on the fast track to success.

Below, then, you'll find all the information you need to erect a sturdy HQ to repel invaders. Oh, and some tips on how to assemble a high-quality army of soldiers to crush your enemies.

Building is a crucial part of the game. Through it, you gain access to new unit types and military hardware.

First things first, make sure you keep things compact and simple. There's no room for niceties in the harsh desert environment, so don't worry about how things look. Just squeeze everything in close so that you maximise the space you can easily cover with your turrets.

Ah, yes, the turrets. You'll need these to protect your base. Again, though, they're easy to set up. It makes sense to place multiple types of turret together, too. Don't worry about them too much early in the game, mind, as you won't really use them that much during your first few hours.

When it comes to defences, you'll also want to build fences around your valuable assets. Get creative with them if you can, though. Creating a perimeter is all well and good, but if you heavily fortify one area with multiple walls, or create a sort of funnel for bad guys, you can better control the flow of enemy troops.

Also, think about creating multiples of the same building type if you need more of one sort of unit or resource quickly.

Building smart

If you want to build in the most effective manner, you should regularly check the Missions that have been assigned to you. That way, you can see where your focuses in building should lie and acquire some easy bonuses. You see, if you complete certain tasks as they're assigned, you'll be rewarded with additional extras for your troubles.

Some bonuses are simply extra Blood Money, but some are new units entirely. New units, in fact, that you couldn't possibly hope to build at your current level. This will give you a significant edge in Matches against the AI.

You can also perform the usual freemium builder tricks to make the most effective use of your play time. For instance, if you know you're about to cease playing for a long time - before you go to sleep, for instance - use that downtime to create and upgrade the more time-intensive units and buildings.

However, you can't just build and build and build and hope to make progress. By just building, you won't gain any experience, and consequently won't gain access to new types of buildings or be able to upgrade the ones you already have. Therefore, you''re gonna have to go to war.

The tactics you'll need to employ to defeat opponents aren't especially complex, but you'll need to have a good knowledge of the basics to ensure your troops return from conflicts relatively unscathed.

The first thing you'll want to do before every encounter is to scout out the enemy base by tapping the 'Spy' button and utilising your snooping technology. Knowing your enemy's defence strategy - such as where turrets are set up in large quantities or if there's a particularly thick wall ahead you'll need to avoid - is extremely useful.

Your brain needs to be switched to 'Intelligent' mode at this point because your troops aren't the smartest bunch, and they'll rarely think for themselves. This means that they're likely to do some pretty silly things, so, yep, you'll need to look after them at all times.

Whenever you spot them moving about the battlefield, keep your eye on them... just in case they run into an enemy instalment. In addition, try not to attack something if it's behind cover, as the troops will attack the wall before they attack the thing behind the wall shooting at them. Destroy the wall that stands in your way, then rush through and tackle the turret.

One last tip for you: when you destroy the Command Centre, the fog of war will dissipate entirely. So, if you want to go through and obliterate the rest of the enemy base, you can do so knowing exactly what lies ahead.