What FOB/Fort setups do you make, and which one is the best for each situation?

[DiscordWizard]

I've recently been enjoying engineer alot, and I mostly spend all of my points in a rangefinder and alot of materials for FOB or outpost building, and everytime I try to build what seems more comprehensible, defensible and useful with what I have, but I've seen many engineers do all kinds of forts, choke points, sandbag walls, minefields and whatnot, and I'd like to know which ones are the most useful for each situation you could find yourself planet-side, if only to learn what I should do when I'm told "Build defenses" and have no clue where to start or where to finish.

Can even be meme grade forts or defenses if they work, like fort Alamo that one time Carson made us build it or the one marine barricade box.

[Chaznoodles]

[ ][ MARINE

Repeat as necessary around the entire FOB.

[DiscordWizard]

Wouldn't the second barricade aiming at the marine block the marine bullets thought?

[xXen0zS1ay3rXx]

Wouldn't the second barricade aiming at the marine block the marine bullets thought?

They technically 'overlap' and don't effect aiming by counting as '1 tile 1 cade' but still needs to be clawed down. Oversight or intended not sure

[LittleBlast]

Having cases like ][ Is a bad idea because xenos can slash both at a time by targeting the back cade

[DiscordWizard]

Having cases like ][ Is a bad idea because xenos can slash both at a time by targeting the back cade

But would they take a double amount of damage if both cades are full of barbwire when they attack both at once?

[LittleBlast]

But would they take a double amount of damage if both cades are full of barbwire when they attack both at once?

They would not, as far as I have been able to tell

[Grubstank]

Having cases like ][ Is a bad idea because xenos can slash both at a time by targeting the back cade

I am almost certain it does not work that way
Any time something hits the front cade in a ][ arrangement, it would be because the front cade blocked your attack from hitting the back one -- in which case your barricade effective HP is completely identical whether they're arranged [[ or][.

[MattAtlas]

I am almost certain it does not work that way
Any time something hits the front cade in a ][ arrangement, it would be because the front cade blocked your attack from hitting the back one -- in which case your barricade effective HP is completely identical whether they're arranged [[ or][.

It does work that way. Xenos will slash both at once.

[Grubstank]

It does work that way. Xenos will slash both at once.

well then I was mistaken

bugfix please

[Chaznoodles]

It does work that way. Xenos will slash both at once.

Doesn't damage the back one though, if the front one blocks it.

[MattAtlas]

Doesn't damage the back one though, if the front one blocks it.

If a xeno slashes one it'll slash both - don't think cades can block xeno slashes completely.

[Vispain]

Mega FOB best FOB

[Maxim Inc]

I like building sandbag castles.

[Grubstank]

If a xeno slashes one it'll slash both - don't think cades can block xeno slashes completely.

Well; right. But being slashed isn't a binary state -- ie full damage or no damage. A drone will take a lot more slashes to get through a barricade than an aged queen, so barricades must have an hp pool of their own to draw from. Any damage the front cade takes would be deducted from the amount the rear takes

[Ttly]

Don't use plasteel cade at hvh
ok

[spookydonut]

][ barricades both take damage when one is damaged, by design.

[Sora9567]

Do xenos take damage from each of the two cades in a ][ cade? I've heard different things from people.

[Boersgard]

The best fob is just a series of fallback points that aren't especially well defended or perfectly protected on the flanks, but give marines a position to hold for 20-30 seconds during a xeno push.

This is already done to a degree with the main LZ fobs that get 3+ layers, but it helps more often to do small layered defenses at critical chokepoints around the map as the situation develops, than for all the engineers to build a fort in one place. Marines cannot hold static defenses thanks to boilers and queen stuns, so the only purpose of static defenses is to buy time and space for marines to get medical attention before they push out again. In essence cades prevent marines from being overrun and routed, nothing more.

[Dolth]

Imo, funnels/maze are the best.
And as small fob as you can to actually have static weamonery covering each area. Regular 41A ain't gonna do much shit.

[KingKire]

Some standard practices i follow when building FOBs:


First, i look at my FOB handy chart. which i upload on imgur.

I ask myself,

A: Whats the most marines i can get to crossfire on the smallest number of enemies?
Rather than build barricades RIGHT into the doorway, build a "U" shape around the inside of the door. Its like a math equation, you want the maximum amount of surface (i.e marines), concentrated on the least area (I.e Enemies).

B: Can i double layer my defenses? (Like a water tight boat)
Rather than just one layer, i try to make 2 layers. If the outer layer is damaged, it can be repaired by an engineer without breaking the inner safety bubble. If the 1st layer falls, engineers can build band-aid barricades around the wounded FOB section. You never build more than 2 layers, because its a waste of resources, and 3+ barricades cause bullets to IMMEDIATELY miss 50%+ more. (and engineers cant reach that far, dont build 3 barricades in a row)

C,D: Can i build in Multi-layers/ multi-section FOBS? (like a water tight boat again, but this time, with water tight compartments added as well)
Rather than just a single or double wall around a massive FOB area, i like to build mini sections that bi-sect the area into sections This is the ONLY way to get more than 2 barricades into a FOB defensive line. Essentially, your building rooms into your FOB, giving it more structure to withstand attacks from all sides, rather than a hollow ballon that pops as soon as its skin is ruptured (instead of losing air, you lose marines).

E: Can i place repairable barricades in front of non-repairable?
Rather than randomly placing metal and sandbag barricades around, i place the "REPAIRABLE" barricade in front of the one that you "CANT" fix. This allows me to use the metal barricades for their best ability, being repaired, and the sandbags for their best ability of being easy to move around in case holes need to be plugged. Use your materials to the best ability.


Build to the size of your force (i.e, if you expect to have 10 marines survive out of a force of 60, build to that number, not 60. less is more)

Other tips n tricks.

► Show Spoiler

Aliens can attack over barricades. I.E if you have marines DRY HUMPING the barricades next to the aliens, they have a random 20% chance of getting their head cut off (increasing by +20% for each level of cracks in the barricade), a 100% chance of being huggered, and a 50% chance of getting acid spit. Do not dry hump the barricade line. keep marines one tile away from the barricades.

marines within 1-2 tiles of a barricade can shoot clean over the barricade without the bullet being blocked. As the marine gets farther away per tile, the chance of the bullet hitting the barricade increases.

Flamethrower fire can cleanly pass through metal grills, even when electrified.

Electric grills are powered from the powerline, and not from an apc.

Electric grills always stun anything that touches them if they are powered. The damage and duration of the stun is equivlent to the power flowing through the system. 5000 watts is a joy buzzer stun, 500,000 watts can burn you almost to crit.

Crushers that fail to break through an electric grill will get shock stunned.

Bullets and spit break electric grills in one to two hits. A broken grill can be repaired with 3 metal rods, and is instant.

Running into electrified doors and grills with cause shock. this can be prevented by placing flipped tables or other objects into the way

Electricfied doors depend on APC power instead of Powerline power. (if i remember correctly)

You cannot grab or interact with any object over a wooden barricade, aliens or human. It is unique in that regard.

Regular tables take ~4 good hits to break apart with force, reinforced steel tables take ~8 good hits.

The sound range of a wistle is the same as a queen roar, about 25ish tiles away.
The sound range of broken glass is (...)

Doors can be electrified, or they can be equiped with signalers to create remote opening and closing doors with remote locks on them. that can also remote shock things. go figure.

Unfinished door frames do not block projectiles.
Doors are about the same durability as a regular metal wall. You can build double doors for the price of one door

Light tubes emit the strongest light value in the game, at +~9 tiles.

Damage to metal walls depends on the *number* of bullet impacts it receives, and not the power of the bullet. a .22 pistol will destroy a wall in the same amount of time as a shotgun slug.

its takes about 30 shots to destroy a metal wall, meaning akimbo smgs are great ways to destroy walls in almost zero time.

A motion detector will beep with activity if its in your hand, on your belt, or on the ground. It does not work if its inside your bag (if i recall)

Dont be afraid to remove and move barricades/ mines/ sentry guns around as the battle goes on ( if your gonna lose the front lines, theres no point in having a really strong rear line)(if you have a minefield, move it to the front lines, rather than let it waste points in the back lines)

Where do i put Machine guns/ Sentry guns? You look to see if you can get your machine placed on the small bottom section of the "L" in a crossfire. This allows the machine gun to "Rake" fire accross the front of your barricades. The machine gun/Sentry gun are your anchor points for a defensive line, and they allow you to "Rake off" any aliens who try to break through the long side of the barricades. Perfably, the machine gun anchor point should be in a "Defensive pocket". I.e that bottom "L" shape should be a reinfoced pillbox, or the enemy should only be able to attack the machine gun if they get in range of the marines on the big line portion of the "L". Either the enemy forces an attack on a tiny reinforced section, or they force the attack on a large section, but are shot to hell by the machine gun.

Finally, if you have spare resources, and you "Really need to use em", build funnel walls. sand bags placed horizontally to your front line instead of vertically. (the shape of a "]---" rather than "] ] ]") It allows your troops to fire outside, and acts as funnels to prevent side to side movement for enemies attacking your front, causing them to bump into one another or other stupid mistakes.

[xXen0zS1ay3rXx]

I followed the big brained strat of if you rush the beanos fast enough you don't need a FOB

[kastion]

I followed the big brained strat of if you rush the beanos fast enough you don't need a FOB

See your not doing it right though, you rush the xenos so you don't need an LZ fob, but you build the fob ontop of the xenos like outside lambda so you have a fob and can shoot the xenos.

[Dolth]

Usually my FOB is in dela bunks and we repel waves of MP and SO while beating filthy charlie CLFs.

Glory to delta bunks FOB.

But jokes aside, nice really mini guide 3 posts above. Finally another smart boi.