Your Production buildings are the buildings you need to establish your base. They are responsible for creating your armies, your support units and your resource gatherers, this guide will mainly take the view of playing in Single Player.These structures are:
Your Headquarters (HQ)
Your Resource Depot (RD)
Your Barracks (Brks)
and your Garage (Grg)

THE HQ
The Headquarters are your first priority building and one of two "tier 0" buildings in the game, the HQ is the start of your base, unlocking and allowing you to build every single other structure in the game bar the Resource Depot, which is the other 'tier 0' building. The HQ has 3 tiers of upgrades, the only building in the game to do so. The progression goes HQ > Super HQ (SHQ) > Super Duper HQ (SDHQ).

Unlike in other RTS games where lack of a HQ disables your Radar or certain abilities, lacking a HQ in this game simply means you are unable to build structures. A fully constructed HQ unlocks and allows you to build your Tier 1 structures, the Barracks, Guard Tower and Barbed Wire post. You can also build extra Bulldozers or Dump Trucks if you lose them or simply want more build queues or collectors gathering.

The HQ costs 400 units of plastic to build and boasts the highest health in the game, clocking in at a whopping 3000HP. This means the HQ will resist all but the strongest of pummelings, giving you time to either relocate your bulldozer and start fresh, or bring back troops to defend, though usually, if your HQ is under attack, you've been outflanked or the enemy has smashed through the rest of your base first.
The HQ initially has the same viewrange as Sarge (Sarge is always present so he works as a baseline). This is nothing special considering the HQ doesn't have a weapon mounted on the building to defend. The HQ also takes a simple 10 seconds to build.

Want to build more? Try a Resource Depot.
The Resource Depot (RD), as you can imagine, is responsible for bringing in your resouces with the help of the Dump Trucks, and every Resource Depot comes with a free dump truck upon completion of building. The RD is the other Tier 0 building in the game, you can build the depot right off the bat without a HQ, some prefer to get the HQ up first to begin building barracks, some prefer to build the RD first so that resources are coming in ASAP.
The RD costs 500 plastic to build, (although it's more like 350 plastic for the depot and 150 for the dump truck), making it the 3rd most resource intensive thing you can build, behind the Super Duper HQ and Paratroopers. The Resource Depot is the second toughest thing in the game, with 2500HP, so it's still a tough nut to crack unless it isn't defended at all. The RD takes a modest 30 seconds to complete building. A word of advice; If you're building forward depots for quicker gathering, build at least a single tower to delay attackers.

]Barracks
This is where your Infantry are processed, molded and sent out to fight for you. The Barracks is a Tier 1 building, meaning you must have a fully built HQ to be able to build it. The Barracks comes with a price tag of 300 plastic and a respectable chunk of health, 2000HP. The Barracks initially can only build Grunts, Grenadiers and Minesweepers, good sentries alone, good scouts in small groups, great attackers in large numbers. Given the relatively cheap cost and quick build time of barracks, you can throw a barracks up off to the side of an enemy base as a quick reinforcement point or outflanking position.

The Barracks is essentially the bread and butter of your base. Grunts and Grenadiers are your early game raiders and defenders, neglecting your early game defending can lead to opponents quickly raiding your base and then retreating out of range of static defenses to regroup. The units built from the Barracks are covered in more detail in my Unit Guide.


Super HQ
The Super HQ is the next level for your base, upgrading from the standard HQ will require a spare 400 plastic and about 40 seconds of your time. The Super HQ upgrade is locked off until you have a fully operational Barracks up and running, after which, you can upgrade with no extra steps.

While functioning as a Super HQ, the building gets no increase to health or sight range, nor does it get to build anything extra. What the Super HQ enable however, is the creation of more advanced buildings, such as the base Garage, Super Barracks, Pillbox and AA Gun.

Personally I've always thought that the HQ is where all the power production for your base is kept, given that you can't build a base without it and the Super HQ upgrade gives two "pumps" to the side of the structure

Super Barracks
The Super Barracks is the Tier 2 upgrade of the baseline structure, requiring a Super HQ, costing you another 300 plastic and 40 seconds of your time to complete. As with any other upgraded structure, the building doesn't gain extra health from the upgrade.

The Super Barracks allows you to produce more specialised infantry units for combat, unlike the general purpose grunt and Grenadier (look at the stats, the grunts literally do the same damage across all unit types). The units that are unlocked by the Super Barracks are; The MachineGunner, Bazooka Man, Mortar Man and Sniper.


Garage
The Garage is responsible for the production of your mechanised forces. This is where the really hard hitters and hit takers come from. The Garage comes with a cost of 400 plastic each and 40 seconds of building time. It carries the same amount of health as the Barracks, a respectable 2000 health

The Garage is another Tier 2 building, again, requiring a Super HQ on the battlefield to be built at all. The structure allows you to build your support structure, hard hitters and fast movers; The strategic Minelayer, the ever helpful Medic, the speedy half-track and the durable Tank.

(Unfortunately I ran out of page space...)

(Sorry about having to split it)

Super Duper HQ
The final tier upgrade for the HQ, unlocking the fairly exclusive Tier 3 units. In it's final form, the HQ still doesn't gain any additional HP, but it does increase it's view-range to equal that of a sniper.
Individually*, this upgrade is the second most costly thing you can build in the game, with a price tag of 600 plastic to build and taking another 40 seconds to upgrade. The cost of this upgrade is second only to the cost of a Paratrooper airstrike, which costs 700 total resources (500 plas, 200 elec).
The upgrade to Super Duper HQ allows you to build the Radio Operator, to call down strategic or devastating air strikes. But it also enables you to build the final structure on this list, which is...

Super Garage
The Super Garage is the Tier 3 upgrade for the Garage. It unlocks the final pair of units in the game, the Chopper and the Dum Dum, who are also detailed in my Unit guide.

The upgrade to the Super Garage will cost you another 400 plastic and another 40 seconds for your trouble. But it does unlock arguably the most versitile unit in the game, along with the most damaging unit in the game**. The units from the Super Garage can either bypass or obliterate most defenses. Combined with the units from a standard garage, and the two forms of Barracks, you have yourself a whole army.








*If the HQ upgrades are counted seperately. If you total up the HQ upgrades they are the most costly investment, coming up to 1300 plastic to get to Super Duper level
** The Dum Dum has the capability to One-Shot kill any unit in the game, even Tanks and Sarge. Only production buildings are sturdy enough to survive one


Final comment:
Sorry if this guide isn't as detailed as the Unit Guide. It's hard to come up with filler text for structures, considering they can't move, attack and they don't have any abilities or traits with them. Next up will be the Defensive Structures.

This section is all about the things that prevent your enemy from waltzing through your base when your army is elsewhere in the field.

As a general reminder, Base Defenses are more of a deterrant than actual defense. Strong enough armies, or effective siege will break through any defense, so it's always important to support your static defense with mobile units, such as tanks to counter vehicles and Snipers to attack infantry.


Guard Tower
Firstly we have the Guard Tower. This building is available to you upon completion of your standard HQ and is your first line of defense against early raids or harassment of your collectors. It costs a fair 200 plastic, takes a decent 20 seconds to completely build.

The Guard Tower is able to combat all the unit types, Infantry, Armour and Air, however, it is better at dealing with infantry than anything else. The Guard Tower does 25 DPS to Infantry and 20 to Vehicles and Aircraft. It has a range of 72, meaning that it can't be outranged by anything other than Mortar Men (well... and Snipers, but they can't damage buildings). Unfortunately, the Guard Tower is rather flimsy, having only 600 health. While this is high by mobile unit standards, even a small group of determined basic infantry can destroy a lone Guard Tower, especially considering they can't shoot directly adjacent to themselves, so it's best to build 2-3 spread out, if you're meaning to deny the area to your enemy.

Single Towers are useful as early warning systems, as they can detect and weaken enemy forces before they reach you. Guard Towers will win any 1-on-1 engagement with enemy units with the exception of the Tank, though it will come off heavily damaged against other vehicles.


Pillbox
Coming second, the Pillbox is a Tier 2 defense, it needs a Super HQ to be build, but is stronger than the guard Tower in all but two aspects. It cannot target the air at all and it has a slightly shorter range than the tower. The Pillbox costs 300 plastic to build and takes 30 seconds to complete. It also comes with a nice chunk of health too, 1000HP. (In other words, a tank)

The Pillbox can engage Infantry and Armour with good results, dealing 30 DPS to infantry and 25 to Armour (If modded to target Air, Pillboxes do 25 DPS to them as well). The Pillbox is very effective at chewing through weak or already damaged infantry, especially if it is supported with splash-capable units like Grenadiers, Bazookas or Tanks. The splash units weaken the whole group, allowing the Pillbox to quickly rip through them.

Single pillboxes are vulnerable to even a single chopper, as it cannot fight back at all. If you're going to build a pillbox somewhere, place a Guard Tower or AA Gun with it, or always keep an Anti-Air capable unit nearby.


AA Gun
The AA Gun is another Tier 2 defense, also requiring a Super HQ. The AA Gun is the Yin to the Pillboxes Yang, as the name implies, the AA Gun's purpose is to engage and destroy Air targets*. It shares the same 72 range as the Guard Tower. Costs 150 plastic to build and takes 15 seconds to build.

The AA Gun is only capable of shooting at targets in the Air, doing a decent 53 DPS to the target in addition to a moderate splash radius. This makes even a lone AA Gun a nightmare for small to medium chopper wings, as one shot from the AA Gun will damage multiple of it's force, which can quickly lead to entire strike forces being brought crashing down.

The AA Gun is, as you would expect, entirely useless against enemy ground forces except maybe to serve as a distraction. Cover the AA Gun with ground units or defenses to prevent it from getting destroyed and paving the way for choppers to wreck havoc on your base.



Barbed Wire Post
The Barbed Wire Post, while not really a "defensive" structure, still has merit in tactical applications. The post costs 50 plastic to build, can link to nearby (within 4 tiles) posts and guard towers free of charge. It also takes a very short 5 seconds to build.

The Barbed Wire post has the same health as a Pillbox, a nice, respectable 1000HP, not bad for 50 plastic right?

The Barbed Wire post is... questionable in single player, AI units will stop to attack ANYTHING belonging to you, so your posts will be destroyed before they get a chance to redirect the enemy. However, building fences with a mix of posts and guard towers can help to prevent units like Minesweepers from entering your base, or preventing Snipers from sneaking in and assassinating your units (especially your Heroes)












Thanks for reading my second guide. It's a little harder to explain the buildings than it is the mobile units due to the fact that they can't move... so their tactical value is somewhat limited