Losing to a weapons rush is almost a rite of passage for new Forts players. What is a weapons rush exactly? It's a set build order that results in having specific weaponry in the shortest amount of time possible. The goal is to overwhelm an opponent before they have adequately prepared and it can be devastatingly effective. How can you defend against it? The key is timing, and that is what the majority of this guide will focus on.

For those already familiar with Forts or RTS's in general, detailed listings of costs and building times are included in the Appendices.

This timeline will represent the earliest possible time that a weapon can be produced under ideal circumstances. Ideal circumstances assumes placement is always immediate, resources are always available to begin construction, and no time is lost to bracing or device construction. Upgrade Centres are assumed to be built concurrently with other tech buildings, and no pre-existing tech buildings were included on the map.


Moonshot DLC Weapons highlighted and underlined.

*Armourdillo specific weapon.

The first thing to understand about a rush is the build order. A build order for a given map consists of 3 parts.

1. Technology and Device Prerequisites:
   
   The buildings and devices necessary to build and fire the weapons.
   
   
2. Resource Costs:
   
   The total amount of metal and energy necessary to build the prerequisites, the weapons, and to fire the weapons. May affect device requirements.
   
   
3. Build Timings:
   
   The exact moments to begin building each component and the cumulative length of time before the weapon, or weapons, are ready.

As an example, consider the prerequisites for a Plasma Laser. To access the Plasma Laser on the tech tree, you would first need a Workshop or Armoury, then a Factory, and a storage capacity of 1000 metal and 6000 energy. On most maps that would mean you would also need to build additional Metal Stores and Batteries.

To simplify things, we'll ignore the resource costs for the moment and focus on time. Before you can start on your Factory, you must first complete your Workshop or Armoury. That will take 60 seconds to complete. Once it is complete, you can begin building your Factory, which will take an additional 90 seconds. Finally, you are able to begin construction of a Plasma Laser, which will take an additional 120 seconds.

Adding all of that up, we get 60 seconds + 90 seconds + 120 seconds for a total of 270 seconds. Or 243 seconds when using the Hurricane commander. (See Appendices.) This represents the earliest you should expect to see a Plasma Laser in a standard game, barring the use of a commander's active ability and maps with pre-built technology buildings.

Once you understand a build order you can formulate strategies to defend against it. In the previous example under ideal circumstances an opponent could have a Plasma Laser ready within 243 seconds. By referring to the Weapon Timeline and Appendices, you can determine what counters you have the time and resources to afford.

Let's say you decide to counter with a Shield. Since a Shield takes 15 or 7.5 seconds to build, you know that you would need to have begun construction by the 228st or 235th second. At the same time, you also know you don't really need the Shield (against a Plasma Laser at least) until that point.

Many players who have fallen to a Laser Rush build a Shield near the very beginning of the game. This sets them back in quite a bit in terms of resources for their own tech and weapons. It's understandable, given the embarrassment of toppling or falling onto a teammate. By learning the timings involved, you can allay those fears and be prepared with your own defenses and weapons at the appropriate times.

This is a list of common defenses against the various weapons.



Note: Sacrificial bracing is bracing that is deliberately built out from the Fort to be struck by incoming missile weapons in order to absorb their area-of-effect (AoE) damage. By causing explosive weapons to detonate further away, it reduces the amount of damage caused inside the base or on the core.

Looking at the Timeline it would be easy to think a weapons rush was the only viable tactic. In reality, a failed weapons rush often spells the end. A player must commit the bulk of their resources to an attack that, if countered, leaves them with few options. The faster they achieve their weapons, the more they must neglect their income and their own defenses. Forts affords a variety of play styles, and finding ways to make your preferred builds work is all part of the fun. But too often players new to Forts fall victim to a rush and become angry, discouraged, and reluctant to continue playing. That benefits no one and was the inspiration for this guide.

The Moonshot DLC adds:

• A new single player campaign.
  
  
• Additional single and multiplayer achievements.
  
  
• Capture map game mode and a new device, capture point Derricks.
  
  
• The Combined Forces faction with three new commanders, Buster, Phantom and Moonshine.
  
  
• Five new themes including a dark nighttime theme.
  
  
• The Moonshot HUD.
  
  
• An in-game badge.
  
  
• New Moonshot in-game music.
  
  
• Four new weapons, Buzzsaw, Smoke Bomb, Howitzer, and Magnabeam.
  
  
• Two new materials, Blast doors and Portals.

Moonshot content and Moonshot dependent mods can only be enabled by lobby hosts who own the Moonshot DLC. However, this also enables that content for all players within the lobby whether they have the DLC or not.

Moonshot DLC content in this guide is highlighted and underlined.

Note: All Appendix information is current as of June 30, 2021, and reflects the Tons of Guns Mod enabled. Moonshot DLC content highlighted and underlined.

(A) Architect Commander Time to Build

To activate portals click and drag from one portal to the next. Portal alignment can be modified by right-clicking to bring up a contextual menu.

Note: Materials under construction will pass projectiles until completed with the exception of Buzzsaws.

(A) Architect Commander Time to Build

Note: Materials in the process of conversion will react with projectiles using the properties of the original material while building.

*Moonshot DLC Material highlighted and underlined.

Note: Devices interact with projectiles normally while under construction.

(H) Hurricane Commander Time to Build
(A) Architect Commander Time to Build

*Shockenaugh specific device.

(H) Hurricane Commander Time to Build.

*Scattershot Buzzsaws cost 275 metal but receive +2 projectiles when firing.
(E) Eagle Eye Commander Time to Build
(H) Hurricane Commander Time to Build

Moonshot DLC Weapons highlighted and underlined.

(H) Hurricane Commander Time to Upgrade
(O) Overdrive Commander time to Upgrade

*Armourdillo specific weapon.

Note: Fire Beam and Plasma Laser can be fired before reaching full energy, but will fire for a reduced duration.

Moonshot Weapons highlighted and underlined.

*Amourdillo specific weapon.