Factory

What is the Factory?

The Factory takes the base into a new stage: vehicles join the infantry, bringing the ability to shift pressure quickly across the map, break fortified positions, and disrupt the enemy’s response. Building it also unlocks further development through the Laboratory and Heliport. Investment in vehicles matters most after scouting reveals the pace and composition the match requires.

What does the Factory unlock?

The Factory is the key to the entire upper part of the tech tree. Until it exists, the only combat unit available is the Peacemaker from the Barracks. As soon as it is complete, the following become available:

• The Laboratory. Requires a completed Factory. Costs 10 ore and takes 20 seconds to build. It unlocks the Titan, Balloon, Turret, and the Shield, Cooling, Overclock, and Healing researches.
• The Heliport. Also requires a Factory. Costs 15 ore and takes 30 seconds to build — and the base gains aircraft: the Thunder and Hawk. The Balloon additionally needs a Laboratory.
• The Devastator in the Barracks. Devastator production unlocks only after the Factory is built.
• The first upgrade levels in the Barracks and Heliport. Armor I and Attack I for infantry and aircraft require a completed Factory. The second and third levels also wait for a Laboratory.

That is why even players who do not plan to fight with vehicles build a Factory: without it there are no aircraft, no Laboratory, and no Devastators.

Tank, Lynx, and Wave: production numbers

The order in which you produce vehicles depends on three numbers: cost, production time, and energy.

All vehicles cost the same energy — 2 each — so the choice comes down to ore and time. The Lynx is the cheapest and 10 seconds faster than the rest: the first machine rolls out of a freshly built Factory just 20 seconds later. The Wave is the most expensive of the three, and it damages only air targets while freezing every troop type except Peacemakers, so producing it before the main army means freezing 16 ore for nothing. Detailed breakdowns with builds are on the Lynx, Tank, and Wave pages.

The production queue and the rally point

• A queue of up to 5 orders. One Factory can hold no more than five orders at a time. They are completed sequentially, one after another. The queue rules are the same for every production building.
• Canceling refunds the ore. An order in the queue can be canceled at any moment — the ore spent on it is fully refunded. To cancel, swipe the order off the button or tap it in the queue.
• The queue reserves energy. Every Factory order reserves 2 energy before the machine even reaches the field — a long queue can block orders in the Barracks and Heliport.
• The rally point. Like other buildings, the Factory can be given a point on the map where vehicles head as soon as they are produced. A rally point near the front line saves you from manually ferrying every new machine.
• The queue is a draft, not a verdict. If scouting reveals aircraft, remove the Tanks from the queue, take the ore back, and produce Waves. Rebuilding the queue pays off most at the Factory, because its three machines answer different threats.
• One long assembly line is slower than two short ones. Five Tanks in a single Factory means 150 seconds of sequential production. Two Factories produce the same series almost twice as fast, and the extra cost is only 16 ore for the second building.
• Repair is cheaper than replacement. A Worker repairs damaged Tanks, Lynxes, and Waves. Returning a battered machine to service is better than paying 10–16 ore and waiting for a new one from the queue.

Upgrades in the Factory

Armor IArmor IIArmor IIIThe three levels progressively increase the base health of Tanks, Lynxes, and Waves by 10%, 20%, and 30%. The upgrades cost 10, 20, and 30 ore and take 40, 60, and 80 seconds to research. The second and third levels require a Laboratory.

Attack IAttack IIAttack IIIThe three levels progressively increase the base damage of Tanks, Lynxes, and Waves by 10%, 20%, and 30%. The upgrades cost 10, 20, and 30 ore and take 40, 60, and 80 seconds to research. The second and third levels require a Laboratory.

What does it cost to lose it?

A demolished Factory costs more than 16 ore and 30 seconds for a new building. All that time no Tanks, Lynxes, or Waves come out, while the army at the front takes losses it cannot replace — in the middle of a battle, such a pause often decides the outcome. So start repairs early: a Worker repairs a damaged Factory, and there is no reason to wait until the building is near death.