Squad Member Overview
The squad command building which houses all the squad members happens to be an essential part of every base. With Melody joining the party and all squads getting to level 200, we must now examine them based on their most relevant abilities and applications while discussing how to skill them for optimal performance.
Hannibal
Hannibal, the first squad member to arrive, goes from Officer Cadet Hannibal (at max level 50) to Lieutenant Hannibal (at max level 100), Colonel Hannibal being the 150 version and then Brigadier Hannibal, his rank at level 200. Gaining new talents, while improving on old skills with each promotion, Hannibal distinguishes himself as the one squad member that can perform optimally in every aspect of gameplay. A unique skill of his, however, is one he gains between levels 150 and 200. It is his ultimate skill, the Tempered Steel. In the event that skill points aren’t readily available to max skill, “Adrenaline Rush 1 and 2” can be avoided and forgone, as they hold no real value, nor do they add any additional bonuses to Hannibal’s overall performance. They solely boost his HP regeneration speed, which is a skill that enables Hannibal to slowly heal himself. The Hero, Talia, boosts Hannibal more than any other hero does.
Attacking with Hannibal
Base and Control Point attacks using Hannibal excel because Hannibal offers a decent mix of attack and armor allowing a player to deal a good amount of damage while keeping troops or at least himself alive. This unique ability is further complemented by the Ultimate Skill “Tempered Steel” that kicks in when Hannibal’s HP is at 25% or less. This makes an attacking Hannibal very difficult to kill. It often saves an attacker’s hero from getting captured, even in a defeat where all the troops used in the attack die, and only a few troops from the defender are harmed.
Defending with Hannibal
Performing similarly in defense as he does in attack, Hannibal protects troops offering a lot of armor while maintaining an attack level high enough to kill the march of an attacker. Thanks to his high HP rating, Hannibal at level 200 stays healthy even after taking a few decent hits when defending.
Clare
The second squad member to hit the squad command is Captain Clare. She starts off at level 100, packing interesting talents and boosting mercenary aircraft far more than her predecessor, Hannibal, does. Her next two promotions will see her raised to the rank of Major Clare at level 150, and Lieutenant Colonel Clare at level 200. It is important to note that Clare operates primarily as an attack focused squad member with very little armor or health benefits to troops. As a result, skilling a Clare should, first and foremost, cater to the skills related to Troop Attack and Captain Clare Attack bonuses before Armor and HP skills are considered. Clare is also significantly boosted when the hero, Xira, is active, far more than when any other hero is active. Two Ultimate skills come with Clare at level 151. One boosting her effectiveness with tier 8 troops and the other doing the same with tier 9 troops.
Attacking with Clare
Clare and Xira combine to make devastating effects when used in rally attacks, especially with her squad stat rating and effectiveness increasing significantly. A major advantage of using Clare in attack shows in her specific boost to Mercenary Aircrafts. However, Clare dies on impact more often than not and in the event of a loss, a “Massive Defeat” report quickly follows where the hero is captured with zero chances of Clare herself surviving and bringing the hero home. Therefore, it is important to note that while being a force to reckon with, Clare does not protect troops enough and should only be used in a solo attack, unless the goal is to lose the march and attempt to kill more of the defender’s troops than the march size. Rallies with Clare should also have a different squad included to provide the armor required to save some troops and attempt to get a report back in the event of a defeat.
Defending with Clare
“All attack and no armor” and “dying on impact”, these characteristics follow Clare from attack to defense. However, Clare does prove to be a valuable asset in defense, as she kills much more of an attacker’s troops and enemy squad member’s health at this level than any other squad does. This amazing defense-attack ability is greatly reduced in the Control Point. As a result, utilizing Clare as a base defending squad is a good idea, as long as the troops defending have enough health/armor to survive a hit and the defender is online to heal and reheal after every hit. A defending Clare only offers a significant amount of attack to kill an incoming march and potentially zero out an incoming squad member’s health as well. An excellent application of Clare’s defense-attack abilities, for example, occurs when she is paired up with other squad members in a rally defense, with the other squads providing the missing armor/health required to keep more troops alive.
Molotov
Molotov, the third squad member to join the crew, comes in with some interesting and unique applications. The complete inverse of Clare, Molotov comes with all armor and almost zero attack benefits to troops. Starting off at level 100, Commander Molotov subsequently gets promoted to level 150 and gets rewarded with the Colonel rank, then the next promotion sees Molotov go up to level 200 as Brigadier Molotov. Since Molotov is primarily a squad for armor, you should avoid attack related points while skilling him and focusing more on HP and Armor boosts to increase his rating and effectiveness. This is the way to go until enough skill points are available to max skill. Molotov’s ultimate skill, The Berserker Rage, should kick in a significant amount of troop attack when his HP is at 25% or lower, however, it is not very effective and has little or no relevance in overall gameplay.
Attacking with Molotov
With very little boosts in attack and packing a lot of armor, Molotov still manages to be a useful option having unique applications. Having much more HP than all the other squad members at this level enables Molotov to stay alive and get a report from a base that will naturally kill the full march. Molotov’s armor can also be taken advantage of in attack, protecting high tier attack mercs. This should make up for the significant lack of attack boosts when using this squad member in a solo attack, for example. In rally attacks, Molotov can be included as a supporting squad member to provide that extra armor boost, save important troops from dying or guarantee a report back, saving the hero from getting captured.
Defending with Molotov
Being the most armor packed squad member makes Molotov an interesting choice in base and control point defense. Providing so much armor and health to troops and staying healthy even after a few hits means that he is the go-to when protecting troops is the priority. However, his lack of attack boosts means he has to be supported by other squads in order to kill the attacking march when used in a rally defense, for example. Molotov gains significant additional HP when the hero, Ronen is active.
Melody
Melody, the latest addition to the squad command is arguably the most interesting squad member yet. Strong versus all the other squad members and only weak versus Operative troops, her applications are diverse and can be referred to as “Hybrid” in nature. Major Melody goes straight to level 150 upon release and does a much better job than Clare 100-150 in attack and Hannibal 100-150 in defense when skilled properly. Skilling a melody to maximize her effectiveness at this level can be tricky because limited skill points are made available to everyone to utilize. A stat rating with an average of 16m at max level 150 is ideal and can be achieved after skilling all her troop attack nodes and then max skilling the nodes that provide the most Melody HP and Armor bonuses. At level 151, shortly before level 200 opens up, Melody gains 3 new ultimate skills, which significantly increase her Troop Attack, Armor, and Health respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Melody arrives at level 200 with brand new skills that once again make her relevant after a brief period where the other squad members shine at level 200 before she becomes upgradeable.
Attacking with Melody
Attacking with Melody as a result of her unique talents prove even more destructive than attacking with a Clare 100-150. A melody at level 185 on the way to 200 also outperforms her three predecessors at level 200 in attack, offering a bit of armor and health to troops as well with more skill points for her becoming readily available. It is important to note that Melody, much like Clare, dies on impact in battle and doesn’t protect a hero in defeat like Hannibal or Molotov can. As a result, utilizing her when the intention is to cause maximum damage, regardless of troop loss in a solo attack or with other squads providing an extra layer of protection in rallies is most effective.
Defending with Melody
As a defense option, melody provides slightly more attack than Hannibal does at the same levels and more health than Clare does as well. Unfortunately, she maintains much less HP than Hannibal and Molotov do and dies far easier when isolated. Using melody in base defense should only be done when the user is online and able to heal or as a complement to other squads in the event of a rally defense, for example.
Squad Versus
All squad members interact with each other in a unique way. For example:
Hannibal is strong Vs Molotov and weaker Vs Clare and Melody. This essentially means that he doesn’t lose much health when he is facing a Molotov but loses a considerable amount when facing Clare or Melody.
Clare is strong Vs Hannibal and weak Vs Molotov and Melody.
Molotov is strong Vs Clare and weak Vs Hannibal and Melody also.
Melody being the fourth squad member happens to be an exception to this system as she has no particular weakness Vs the other squads and only exhibits a weakness when facing Operative troops.
However, it is important to note how squad members complement and “protect” each other when acting together in a rally defense or attack. The squad with the highest HP/rating essentially protects all other squads with a lower rating acting with it in battle and has to be depleted before the others start losing health. Molotov who oftentimes has more HP than the other squads at his level has to be depleted in the event of a rally attack or defense with other squads present before the other squads start to lose health, while fully functioning to the best of their abilities. This affords a player the ability to utilize squads which are high in attack alongside a squad which is high in HP and armor bonuses together to devastating effects.
What’s Next?
Are you in a newer Region and want to check out the comparison between some of the early level Squad Members? Check out Chris’ Squad Member Comparison Guide
Learn more about each individual squad member and their cost of leveling up in Recruit squad members in the squad command.
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