The Cybrans are a faction that use fast hitting units that usually have the highest firing rate. Cybran units often favor stealth and speed rather than raw power, eschewing mobile shields entirely in favor of mobile stealth. This goes perfectly with their weapons and units. Their T3 air units have stealth, with the exception of their T3 Gunship. The Cybran T3 Air Superiority Fighter has the highest accuracy (and subsequently, the most consistent DPS) since their Nanite Missile System can't miss, unlike the UEF Ginsu Pulse Beam and the Aeon Displacement Cannon. The Revenant also supports the Cybran strategy. Their bombs do less damage than the other T3 strategic bombers but the damage radius can hit more units and is more accurate. This also applies to the Wailer. Although it lacks stealth, it has Radar jamming which can confuse the opponent about its position and draw fire to virtual decoys. The Wailer also has a decent Nanite Missile System that allows it to destroy anything up to an interceptor. Cybrans are also considered to have the best Air force with the Soul Ripper and the Gemini. The Soul Ripper is a great unit; a heavily armored experimental with heavy air-to-ground weaponry and reasonable anti-air.
Their land units are also very fast and very accurate. Loyalists have a Disintegrator Pulse Laser to destroy heavy units and Heavy Electron Bolters to destroy the fast moving ones. Also, their missile Deflection is very useful to counter TML. The Brick is the unit that opposes the conventional Cybran strategy. It doesn't rely on stealth, instead relying on raw power. The Monkeylord is a unit optimized for storming enemy bases. Although one of the lightest land-based experimentals, it is also one of the cheapest. Its Heavy Microwave Laser is devastating and it packs basic anti-air. It can be even more effective as a stealth weapon, being both amphibious and possessing a stealth field, making it one of the most versatile experimentals in-game. On the other end of the scale, the Megalith is very expensive but ridiculously tough and destructive but can produce units underneath it, is amphibious and can generally destroy any other Experimental in a 1 on 1.
Cybran navy is considered the weakest of all 4 factions. The Galaxy Class is a good battleship with AA. Also the Nanite Torpedo can defeat a large group of submarines. But the most effective and most expensive of all sea units is the Megalith. Although it can be pelted by the other battleships, the Megalith can defeat them once it gets near. A Megalith can even defeat an Atlantis. Also it can defeat most units while it is close. The Barracuda submarine killer is another effective unit. A Megalith accompanied with a Galaxy and a Barracuda will ensure you a useful fleet. The Cybrans also possess the unique Salem Class destroyer, capable of leaving the water to assault land units, although it moves very slowly on land and is quite vulnerable to units hidden outside its field of view so always bring some scouts with them. They also have one of the most versatile and damaging Cruisers, the Siren class, which posseses incredible AA value and regeneration. In enough numbers the Siren can make some bases essentialy invulnerable to air.
Air Forces
Cybran Air is often considered the best of the 4 faction's air forces, and while this may not be too apparent at first, it begins to show more and more as Cybran air units alone end up destroying entire bases.
Air Superiority is the name of the game with Cybrans. Their T1 and T2 air units aren't all that spectacular (except for the gunships), the Corsair doing only 1/3 of the AA damage of other faction's, but in T3 is where Cybran air units shine. The Cybran ASF is by far the most effective ASF in the entire game. It not only includes a STEALTH SYSTEM, but also has target-lock missiles which can decimate any air unit, no matter how fast. A single Gemini is capable of defeating other ASFs in pitched combat with micro, and in a dogfight, they fare better than other ASFs.
To add to this, not only does the Gemini have stealth, but so does every other T3 air unit of the Cybran's (aside from the Wailer), allowing Strategic Bombers to wreak havoc on a base without Omni Radar, Spy Planes to gather intelligence without much worry about being shot down, and ASF's to tear holes in unsuspecting enemy air.
The Gunship Family
The Cybrans are the only faction which have gunships for every tech level, including T4.
The Jester acts not only as an excellent early-on base defense, but can put an effective stop to an enemy's expansion efforts. It is just as fast as a T2 gunship, and has decent damage for a T1 unit. Its primary effectiveness is in its unique-ness, however. It is the only T1 gunship, which already puts Cybran commanders at an advantage. In groups of 5, they will stop groups of T1 units in their tracks, even if they have Mobile Anti-air. The only thing Jesters have to worry about are T1 interceptors, which should be countered with interceptors of your own, which you should have an abundance of.
Next in line is the Renegade, a truly punishing unit at the least. The Renegade's effectiveness does not lie in arbitrary abilities, such as a transport clamp, or even rapid fire by the Cybran's standards. The Renegade's effectiveness is in its excessive splash damage. While it may not look like it in combat, the Renegade's missiles have a similar splash radius to Cybran artillery. This allows them to literally tear down ANY tight group of ANYTHING within a matter of seconds. Renegades will annihilate an unshielded base, just as easily as they will bury a force of land units of any size or tech level.
The Wailer is less spectacular than the previous units, but is still a fearsome sight on the battlefield. This is especially true if you can't see one. Wailers go by the classic saying about Cybrans: "Don't be worried if you can see Cybran units on the battlefield. Be worried if you don't see them." The Radar Jamming of these units is incredibly useful, and will easily render AA of any sort useless in large numbers. Further, a group composed of both Wailers and Renegades working in tandem allows you to capitalize on their strengths - the Wailer's jamming provides limited cover for the Renegades. Since Renegades are superior for base assaults, mixing them allows for considerably less costly base assaults against bases with T3 AA. Keep in mind that both remain somewhat vulnerably to the AoE flak of T2 AA, however.
And finally, the mighty Soul Ripper. The Soul Ripper strays from the standard Cybran philosophy, being more similar to UEF units in that it is built for one thing, and one thing only: annihilating anything near, around, or under it. It still includes decent AA, and multitudes of weapons for dealing with different threats, as do other Cybran T4 units. It isn't all that spectacular in terms of strategy, it will easily stem any attempts to attack with regular units, and will quickly take down any lone land experimentals. Its true weakness is a well defended base, especially one with SAM AA.
Land Forces
Cybran Land forces are often considered the weakest of all the land forces in a direct confrontation.
It's their secondary abilities which will augment a Cybran commander the most though. Mantis' have engineering suits, allowing them to both defend early exploring engineers as well as assist them in construction. The Sky Slammer utilizes nanodart missiles, which while slower than other AA, is copiously more effective due to the fact that it will ALWAYS hit air units within its range. Sky Slammers can also be modified at will to shoot at ground units, turning them into impromptu siege weapons.
In T2, Cybrans gain the advantage of the Rocket Bot, as well as the ever-useful Deceiver. The Hoplite isn't just useful due to its extended range and ever-present Cybran AOE rockets, but also it only fills a single slot on a transport. This makes Hoplites excellent hot-drop units, as well as good defenders for engineers. The Deceiver is a hallmark unit of the Cybran, capable of providing a stealth field to surrounding units. It may not sound all that useful at first, but it can be rather annoying to be uninformed of an army of Hoplites being dropped in behind your base. The Deceiver also works while hooked onto a transport, making it one of the most useful units in the Cybran arsenal.
The Cybran navy isn't the strongest navy in the game, but it is most definitely the best equipped. The Cybran Navy has a little bit of everything from all over the Cybran faction; stealth, amphibious units, nanodart AA, T2 air staging facilities... You get the point.
All of the Cybran's T2 naval units empower Cybrans on the battlefield, and their T3 Strategic Missile Submarine, as well as the T3 sonar installation are interesting as well.
The Salem class is the cornerstone of the Cybran navy, and is a destructive unit no matter how it's used. It's weaponry isn't particularly powerful, except it's torpedoes, which are famous for their higher-than-average damage levels, nor does it have powerful AA or notable Torpedo Defenses. It's strength lies in its ability to grow legs and clamber onto land, to continue the fight when other naval units would be left high-and-dry. It is noticeably slow on land, however, and does best on land when it has enough space to safely bombard the enemy base, but does not have to walk a far distance to do so.
The Barracuda is the Cybran's submarine hunter. It is argueably superior to the other factions' sub hunters due to its increased damage and stealth abilities.
The CI:18 Mermaid is usually the Cybran's first and best naval stealth unit. It is somewhat easy to pick out in a direct confrontation, but is cheap, and a few of them will allow you to move massive naval-bombardment forces into position without your enemy ever knowing.
The Cybran Cruiser is noted for it's multitude of uses on the Battlefield. It has a main cannon just as powerful as the Salem Class', as well as air staging facilities, tactical missile defenses, and a powerful nanodart AA rack which can attack both air AND naval/land units. It is the most versatile of all the cruisers, and presents an opportunity which should not be passed up.
The two unique Cybran T3 units are the Plan B, and the Flood XR stand out from the rest, quite noticeably. The Plan B is not only capable of launching strategic and tactical missiles, just like the other subs, but also has unbelievably powerful torpedo tubes. It is capable of dealing with any task force coming it's way, and with assistance can easily fend off small navies. While it doesn't have stealth, this can easily be provided by a CI:18 Mermaid... or... a Flood XR. The Flood XR is a slightly less noticeable alternative to the Mermaid, it is tiny, no larger than the average T3 sonar installation. The reason it is a practical alternative is because of it's stealth field, and the ability to move. It goes hand-in-hand with strategic missile submarines and experimentals allowing, them to be built, or build their payload in complete secrecy.
Combined Arms
The true strength of the Cybran, aside from the Gunships, lies in the clever use of combined arms tactics. The UEF specializes in either Turtling or Steamrolling, tactics that capitalize on their strength: a ton of unmanuverable armor. The Aeon take the basic approach of "do one thing and do it well" which leads to a lot of specialized Rushing, bringing a lot of a single kind of firepower to bear in a hurry; with the risk of being met by the perfect defense against it. The Cybrans, by contrast, are a Guerilla faction. That is, their tactics all emphasize doing as much damage as they can for the lowest cost possible, and at the lowest risk of failure. To that end, the key to this is most often the use of a small number of cheaper units in very small groups with one another. To illustrate this, here's a prime example of how a small force of Cybran units can anhilate an entire enemy base, that won't work without the combined effort of all the units involved.
On Seton's Clutch, build 1 Monkeylord, 2 Sirens, 4 Gemenis, 1 Mermaid, and 2 Barracudas. Assign the Gemenis to assist the Mermaid, group all the naval units together, and move them (along with the Monkeylord) out to sea. With this group, you have multiple overlapping stealth fields, enough AA to kill multiple T3 Spy Planes, enough Stealthed naval power to destroy any single naval unit except a T3 Battleship, and yes, a Monkeylord. This small, inexpensive group can allow you to deploy the Monkeylord immediately within firing range of at least one base, and with no warning at all. Whilst this does present a small challenge in trying to deploy the group before the widespread presence of Omni, keep in mind that 1) This can be done with T2 fiighters if needed and 2) even if detected by enemy Air or Omni, the Monkeylord, and thus the true purpose for your tiny escort fleet, remains hidden from the enemy unless they have both Omni and Sonar. If executed early enough, scarce few opponents will have both online.
Inumerable examples like this readily demonstrate why the key to Cybran success is not any single force (though their Gunships are able to hold their own against anything short of hordes of ASFs) but rather the clever combination of all of them.
They lack UEF meatiness, Aeon specialisation or Seraphim devastation, but a clever Cybran player can outsmart the other sides by using their unit lineup's flexibility. Consider the Megalith, the ultimate direct-fire experimental. It works as a Mobile Factory, a powerful submarine, a battleship with legs, AND a powerful support unit. It is the Fatboy's big brother.
Or the Loyalist, the T3 Siege assault robot. It's optimised for a defence role, with disintegrator guns for heavy units and equivalents, a Heavy Bolter for swarms, a missile redirector for protection against bombardment, AND an EMP death effect for going out with a determined bang!
Or even the diminutive Sky Slammer, which can also fill a role as a weak(but unexpected) land-targeting missile truck, as well as being a very competent early AA unit.
See Also
- Understanding UEF Strategy
- Understanding Aeon Strategy
- Understanding Seraphim Strategy