In order save ourselves at least a little bit of reading, I am going to use symbols in order to illustrate basic unit stats. I am going to be using 8 different Symbols, seen below:

💗 Hitpoints (HP) --> Amount of damage a unit can take before being destroyed.
👢 Movement --> How far a unit can move. In the guide, I am going to write down the
movement type behind the symbol. Example: 32 👢(Land)
▌ ▌ Armor Strenght --> Damage resistance against non-psionic attacks.
👅 Shield Strenght --> Resistance against ranged attacks.
⚡ Energy Cost --> How much energy (aka money) it costs to build that unit
₡ Cosmite Cost --> How much cosmite it costs to build that unit. If this symbol isnt there, the
unit doesn´t cost any cosmite.
⌛ Production Cost --> How long it takes to build the unit in your city.
➼ Ability Range --> The maximum range of an attack or an ability. Not displayed for melee
attacks

Side note: AP stands for Action points. AoE for Area of Effect.

The Vanguard is likley the first faction you´ve made contact with in Planetfall, since it´s the Vanguard you play during the basic tutorial mission when starting up the campaign. The Vanguard were the expeditionary forces of the old Star Union and I like to think that they give you an idea of how the old Star Union used to look like. The Vanguard is also the closest thing you get for normal, civilized humans in Planetfall.
The Vanguards victory strategy is technological superiority and a ranged focused military. You´ll quickly come to enjoy the plethora of different units the Vanguard has to offer you and most of their units are pretty straight forward to use. Apart from all the units you can build in your cities, you also have access to a ton of units you can summon with tactical operations or deploy with the help of other units.
The damage channels of the Vanguard are kinetic and laser weapons, which allows for very effective modding of all your units. Especially the kinetic weapons tree is going to be pretty important, since literally all of your kinetic damage units can profit greatly from mods like "rail accelerators" and "fireburst ammunition".
The few units of the Vanguard that profit from the thermal weapons tree do so greatly, so don´t forget about it entirely! Laser Tanks are a versatile and sturdy tank so upgrading its weapons can go a long way. Those mods are even more important for the Drone Carrier: Drones already deal a lot of damage unmodded - with mods you really unlock their true potential! Finally, slapping the final laser mod on your Assault Bikes allows them to have an AoE attack that has a chance to instantly kill low tier units.
Frankly there really isn´t a single Vanguard unit that doesn´t have a good mod potential. No matter if you go for more firepower, special abilities or raw survivalbility: The racial and weapon technologies of the Vanguard will have your needs covered. With this said, Vanguard units work perfectly fine if left unmodded, which allows you to go crazy with mass production late game - especially if you have a military innovation center or an engineering guild.
Since your units are quite good unmodded, you have quite powerful garrisons in your cities as the Vanguard. The long-term bonus of the Vanguard which grants +1 rank on produced units further
emphasizes the mass production capabilities of this faction, since you can build prime rank units with a level 5 innovation center.
Of course, the Vanguard does have it´s weaknesses too. They are VERY reliant on machines after the early game, their only non-machine base units are the Trooper and the Engineer. That makes the Syndicate and the Assembly a troublesome enemy on the battlefield, since they have a lot of arc damage. The Vanguard is also entirely relying on strong armor and has almost no shielded units. This means psionic damage can be quite annoying to the Vanguard if they boosted the armor on their units. Finally, the Vanguard does struggle with status debuffs, since they have no reliable way to remove them apart from a small tactical operation that only affects a single unit.

Pros:
+ Great Base units
+ Great Modding potential
+ Good armor protection
+ Excellent mid-range and long-range performance
+ Formidable garrisons
+ Many unit summons (from units and operations)
+ Very good mass production capabilities

Cons:
- Lack of Shields
- Machine reliant
- very few melee options
- fairly weak to debuffs

My final verdict:
The Vanguard is easily my most favorite faction in planetfall. Their base units are easy to use and really good, while the modding potential allows you to shred most opponents later on in the match.
I also like how versatile the Vanguard is in the game. All your military branches, those being army, navy and airforce can easily be modded to adapt to face different enemies or to utilize different strategies.
That weakness in melee combat can usually be countered easily by setting up overwatch killzones and in doubt the tough armor on your tanks and drone carriers can negate a lot of the incoming damage. Overall a very beginner friendly faction that also has great potential in the hands of an experienced player.

30 💗
32 👢(flying)
1 ▌ ▌
0 👅
30 ⚡
130⌛
Role: Scout/Support

Main Attack: 3x9 thermal damage (5➼)
Other abilities:
“Targeting field” (7➼, 1 AP, target is 35% easier to hit for 2 turns, 1-turn cooldown);
"Far Sight";
Prime rank: "Evasive" (15% harder to hit)

The OWL is your faction scout for the Vanguard and early game it really is the best thing you have for scouting as it flies and it has +1 vision range from “far sight”. Instead of building OWLs you can also summon them with a strategic operation called “emergency recon”, which is a handy tool to get them right behind enemy lines, to recapture unoccupied cities and sectors or to prevent enemy players from annexing certain sectors without having to build a forward base on it. If you are in trouble, you can also use this operation to bolster your forces for an upcoming fight.
The laser of the OWL deals a fairly good amount of damage but has a short range and teh accuarcy is mediocre at best. The survivalbility isn´t particular impressive either: The OWL has very little HP, so one or two direct hits are all it takes to be shot down. From my experience the best usage of unmodded OWLs is to make use of their "targeting field" that makes a single enemy unit MUCH easier to hit for two turns.
Enemy behind cover? Well that´s not gonna do them much good anymore! Enemy concealed with smoke? You can counter that! All your units blind? Well, that one still sucks, but at least you can hit one enemy reliable without using AoE weapons. It´s a fairly versatile scout but doesn´t exactly exceed in combat performance.

Pros:
+ Good scouting capabilities
+ Good support ability

Cons:
- low accuarcy
- small range
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
A somewhat lackluster scout unit when it comes to fighting. Don´t bother modding these things, since their main use really should be to scout on the strategic map or to use their support ability in combat. It´s good enough as a scout, but I would personally focus on building troopers, PUGs and assault bikes early on for your combat armies. If you insist on modding them stick with something cheap.

40💗
32 👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry

Main attack: 3x9 kinetic damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x8 kinetic damage (3➼, 2-turn cooldown, 1 AP, explosive, high impact)
Other Abilities:
“Overwatch” (becomes "Improved overwatch" on prime rank);
“Steady Aim”;
Prime rank: "Improved Overwatch"

The Trooper is, as you might imagine, your average modern soldier. They come with a basic repeating ranged attack that deals kinetic damage. The Troopers “steady aim” increases the accuracy by 15% whenever they are behind cover, so make tactical use of your terrain. Remember that large units count as cover as well, allowing your Troopers to take cover behind your Tanks and Walkers. Their basic overwatch, which becomes improved overwatch on prime rank (higher accuracy on overwatch), allows you to set up kill zones against enemy melee units - just to mention one possible use of overwatch.
Troopers also come with a secondary ranged attack that they can use every 3 turns. That grenade does what you imagine: When used, it explodes on the target tile dealing damage to adjacent tiles as well. It doesn´deal that much damage, but it delivers high impact stagger on a 1 tile AoE which is very useful against enemies without stagger resistance. A nice secondary feature of the grenade is that it destroys cover very easily, which allows follow-up attacks to easily finish off an entrenched unit.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Troopers though is their modding potential. The infamous jetpack mod springs to mind, but believe me when I say that the damage output of Troopers is terrifying if you slap some kinetic weapon mods on them. "Rail accelerators", "Kinetic phase modulator" and "fire burst ammunition" are all great mods for them.
Overall, the Trooper is a very reliable main infantry that performs excellent both stock and modded and can fulfill a variety of different roles in your army: As your main combat unit, as fire support, as cannon fodder or as an escort for your Tanks and Walkers. Which of these you choose from is up to your personal preference, stage of the game and your secret tech.

Pros:
+ Good accuarcy (in cover)
+ Fantastic mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Versatile

Cons:
- Low survivalbility

My final verdict:
Definitly worth being called a core unit. Troopers are the backbone of your early expansion and can still pull their weight later on in the match, although do keep in mind that they are really easy to kill if you dont increase their protection with mods.
What I usually aim for is producing elite troopers with some really good weapon mods for my main combat armies, while I stick with 1 or 2 cheap mods for my mass produced armies. If I focus on an infantry army my troopers usually get more cosmite allocated to them, meanwhile they often stay completly unmodded if I am aiming for a mechanized army.

45💗
40👢(Land)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Strike unit

Main attack: 1x18 thermal damage (5➼)
Secondary attack: 1x18 thermal damage (1➼, 1 AP, cone AoE attack)
Other abilities: Stagger Resistant; “Exposed Flanks” (-2 ▌ ▌ when flanked);
Prime rank: "Evasive"

In the right situation an Assault Bike is invaluable, especially against a crowd of enemies. What I am talking about is the potent secondary attack of the Assault Bike which hits multiple tiles in a cone in front of the Assault Bike. Equip the "desintegration module" that allows laser attacks to instantly kill low tier units and you got yourself a fast unit that has a decent chance to kill several enemies with just one attack!
The primary attack deals the same amount of damage to a single enemy unit but in return it pushes back light units. That´s very useful to keep melee units off you or to kick an enemy out of their cover - but is pretty much useless against late-game heavy units.
In terms of protection the frontal armor of the Assault Bike is quite strong - the sides and the rear on the other hand ... not so much. "Exposed flanks" reduces your ▌ ▌ by 2 if flanked. This makes flanking attacks with the Assault Bike very risky, as they get wrecked pretty quick as soon as the enemy can get in some flank hits - and even the AI knows how to do that! It really isn´t as sturdy as it initially looks like.

Pros:
+ Good front armor
+ High damage
+ AoE attack

Cons:
- Very weak to flanking attacks
- somewhat situational
- redundant late game

My final verdict:
Quite good early on in the game, later on it kinda becomes redundant due to how situational that close-range AoE often is. When you can utilize this attack it feels great, but the pure versatility and modding potential of your more advanced machines (gunship, laser tank, walker, drone carrier) far outshine the assault bike.
Later on in the match I would only maintain their production if you are fighting melee focused factions. As far as modding is concerned you are best off focusing on laser weapon mods.

40💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 1x16 thermal damage (5➼)
Other abilities:
“Blur cloud” (3➼, 1 AP, conceals target friendly unit for 2 turns, 2-turn cooldown);
“Healing charge” (3➼, 1 AP, once a battle, heals any unit for 25💗);
“Resupply charge” (3➼, 1 AP, once a battle, takes ALL abilities off cooldown);
“Biological recovery”;
Prime rank: "Firm" (+1 level of stagger resistance)

The PUG is your regular support unit when playing Vanguard. Their main attack is quite powerful and can be improved further with basically any laser weapon mod. What makes the PUG stand out from other support units are its the support abilities however. The healing ability is very versatile with a range of 3 tiles and can be used on almost any friendly unit.
The “Blur cloud” allows the PUG to conceal one of your units from enemy ranged attacks (40% harder to hit), which really helps keeping a valuable unit alive. You usually get the best results on close range units like an assault bike or a melee unit of your choice, but it also works really good on already hard-to-hit units like one of your Gunships.
Finally there is the “resupply charge”, which alone already turns the PUG to my favorite low tier support unit. Being able to resets the cooldown on all abilities is really good and this also allows you to use once per battle abilities multiple times in a battle. Want to have a second “battle plan” up? No problem! Want to shoot yet another strike missile from your Walker? No big deal! Need more healing? Just use it on a second PUG! The aplications really are almost limitless.

Pros:
+ Fantastic support abilities
+ Versatile healing
+ high damage
+ good range

Cons:
- healing doesn´t fix status debuffs
- limited mod potential

My final verdict:
Absolutly use this thing on mass. It really works great along all your units and is also very useful for non-vanguard players. The healing can be used on almost any unit although the fact that it doesnt fix debuffs is really annoying.
In terms of mods I would leave them unmodded for the most part, since you are better off modding your tanks and walkers if you go for a mechanized army. If you focus on an infantry army instead then modding your PUGs with laser weapon mods can be a viable strategy. In the latter case the "sequential kill system" works great alongside the single-hit attack of the PUG.

40💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
290⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (5➼)
Other abilities:
“Place Gun/Launcher Turret” (1➼, 1 AP, once a battle);
“Repair tools” (1➼, 1 AP, once a battle, repairs machine or cyborg for 35💗);
“Targeting calibration” (1 ➼, 2-turn cooldown, accuracy +30% and range by +1 for target machine or vanguard unit for 2 turns);
“Mechanical recovery”;
Prime rank: "Shrug off" (+3 resistance against all status effects)

In comparison with the PUG, the Engineers skillset is more focused on supporting machines. Especially their “targeting calibration” is incredible useful in combination with your more powerful units like the Laser Tank, Gunship and Walker - it can be useful on all your Vanguard units though. An additional 30% accuracy is very powerful and the icing on the cake is the +1 range increase. This ability works with any machine of other factions as well, which means you can use the Engineer to great effect with the Dvar as well - that could be yet another +1 range increase for your Rocket Artillery!
The “repair tools” allows the Engineer to restore a hefty amount of HP to any machine or cyborg unit, which is very useful due to the machine reliance the Vanguard has. Finally, there is the “Place Gun Turret” ability, that allows you to spawn in a friendly Gun turret, more on those in their seperate sections.
To defend himself the Engineer comes equipped with a shotgun, that deals a high amount of damage and has high impact stagger. Since it triggers once, its a perfect fit for RNG reliant weapon mods - on the other hand you really should mod Engineers with their turret in the back of your head. Thats because the Gun/Launcher Turret of the Engineer inherits any mod that doesn´t grant an active ability. That´s why I would rather go for mods that benefit units with a repeating attack.
I tend to use Engineers in conjunction with Laser Tanks and Walkers, while throwing in a PUG for infantry-heavy stacks and stacks that include a Drone Carrier. In General, the Engineer gets more useful the more a match progresses.

Pros:
+ Great support abilities
+ Good unit summon
+ Good Armor
+ Powerful healing
+ Good mod potential

Cons:
- Can only heal machine and cyborg units
- Mediocre damage with his own attack

My final verdict:
Use them in limited numbers. They can work good in infantry heavy armies if you use the rocket turrets, but to get the most out of them you really need to unluck your more powerful machines. Similar to the drone carrier, the engineer really should be modded with priority just because the spawnable turret inherts compatible mods from him.
You should also not forget that his healing works on cyborgs as well, which allows you to use the Engineer to great effect if you pair him with assembly or paragon units. Overall a useful addition to your armies despite being more situational than the PUG.

30💗
0👢(Stationary)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Support Fire/Area denial
Main attack: 3x8 kinetic damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Agile overwatch”

Basic turret you can set up with or without mods. Without mods Gun Turrets tend to be have a really low accuracy and mediocre damage output - but then again they are for free and there has been many times where a good placed Gun Turret saved my hide in combat. Modded it’s an entirely different story mind you. I can recommend to give the Engineer (along with the Gun Turret) rail accelerators for more range and accuracy as this significantly increases the combat effectiveness of both units.
"Kinetic Phase Modulator" gives more accuarcy against entrenched enemies and the shield bypass along with the passive damage increase makes a huge difference. Meanwhile "Fireburst Ammunition" would make low accuarcy irrelevent. Gun turrets are best used on mass to cover a large area, so either use several engineers or use the "resupply charge" of a PUG on the engineer so he can set up another turret. Gun turrets tend to be better on the defense or a static front, as they can´t fire as far as the Launcher turret, which is better in an offensive role.

My final verdict:
The performance even of an unmodded gun turret shouldn´t be underestimated, especially if you can spam out a lot of them (several engineers or with the help of a PUG ablity reset). Modded gun turrets on the other hand basically function like a free summoned trooper that can´t move. I prefer to use modded gun turrets in mechanized armies, since I still want to have easily available overwatch without the need of troopers.

50💗
0👢(Stationary)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Support Fire/AoE damage
Main attack: 1x18 kinetic damage (2-9➼, explosive, high impact, +33% damage against air units)

Can be placed by the Engineer instead of the Gun Turret if you gave him a "turret pack" mod that you can unlock mid-game. The Launcher Turret is superior to the Gun Turret in almost any way: It has a significantly longer range, can deal damage to several enemies at once while also delivering high impact stagger and has a stronger armor.
Since the Launcher Turret is so good without improvements, it might be better off leaving the Engineer otherwise unmodded which makes mass production a lot easier. If you want to give it mods though, make sure to slap "sequential kill system" on it so it can potentially fire 2 missiles on a single turn. The Launcher Turret does a little more damage against air units and due to the AoE is also more likley to score a hit.
Side note: The summoned Heavy Launcher Turret (tactical operation) deals a little bit more damage, has stagger resistance, +5💗 and +1 ▌ ▌ in comparison with the turret deployed by the Engineer. It is a fantastic asset both in defensive and offensive battles.

My final verdict:
Absolutley get this turret in infantry armies. Being able to bombard the enemy from afar every turn allows you to stay in cover and forces the enemy to move into your overwatch killzone. The launcher turret really is good enough without mods, so if you want to save cosmite somewhere you got potential here.

45💗
40👢(Floating)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Distraction/Melee Support
Main Attack: 3x13 thermal damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x10 thermal damage (3➼, 1 AP, once a battle, massive impact, high chance to inflict blind)

Other abilities:
“Assault Jump” (7➼, FREE action, ignores overwatch, grants +3👅 for 2 turns, 3-turn cooldown);
Defense mode: “Shields up” (+2👅)

Cannot be build by you and is only obtainable in combat with a tactical operation. These soldiers are one of only two faction melee units you have access to as Vanguard, so they are pretty useful when facing enemies with a very strong shield. Their flash bang can cause havoc behind enemy lines, while their incredible high mobility in combination with “Assault Jump” allows them to reach far away targets with ease. Important: This ability also grants +3👅- so its important to use it at some point. Since it´s a free action you can really get the drop on unprepared enemies and assassinate a key unit before they have a chance to react!
Other uses for the Valkyrie is to defend your valuable units from enemy melee units and just as a distraction for enemies. However, one important thing to remember is that she doesn’t have stagger resistance, which does limit her performance when facing other melee units.

My final verdict:
As a tactical operation the Valkyrie is somewhat too situational for my taste. The lack of stagger resistance and the fact that you can´t mod them at all really hurts this unit, but that doesn´t make it completly obsolete. Despite the shield buff the Valkyries gets when using their jetpack, they still tend to die really fast. In doubt always summon a launcher turret instead.

40💗
32👢(flying)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Airforce

Main attack: 3x9 kinetic damage (7➼, +33% damage vs other flying units)
Secondary attack: 1x14 kinetic damage (5➼, 1 AP, explosive, high impact, 2-turn cooldown)
Other Abilities:
Stagger Resistant;
“Crash Down”;
“Evasive maneuvers” (5% harder to hit with each hex moved);
“Far sight”;
Prime rank: +300 morale

A somewhat similar story to that of the Trooper: Your average modern world aircraft - just that it is beyond average in terms of actual performance in Planetfall. The Gunship deals a little more damage than the Trooper, flies and has a better armor. Their mod potential is also very good, almost any firearm weapon mod works great with the Gunship and if you are more into buffing the survivalbility of your units then Vanguard racial mods allow you to go that route as well.
As a secondary attack the Gunship comes with a short-range “Buster Missile”, which deals a good amount of explosive AoE damage while destroying most obstacles with ease - like all explosive attacks it also delivers stagger.
By far my favorite thing about the Gunship are it´s “evasive maneuvers”, a special ability that allows your Gunship to avoid being hit the more it moved on the previous turn. That is PERFECT for quick strikes against an enemy position with the buster missile - combine “evasive maneuvers” with the evasion buff all air units have and only the most precise enemies can hit the Gunship reliable. "Evasive maneuvers" can also be used to artifically increase its evasion chance if you don’t intend to attack with it for a turn. Has a great performance both unmodded and modded and can be used in a variety of different roles. The Gunship is very effective if used in pure aircraft stacks as well.

Pros:
+ Hard to hit
+ Great mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Versatile

Cons:
- Somewhat weak damage unmodded

My final verdict:
It performs really well even unmodded, although due to the high price you should only mass produce them like that if you got a level 4 or 5 military innovations center in your city. The evasive maneuvers + buster missile combo is just fantastic since it allows you to deal a tremendous amount of damage without much risk - unless you are being stupid with unit placement.

60💗
32👢(Land)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20₡
400⌛
Role: Main Armor

Main attack: 3x13 thermal damage (7 ➼)
Secondary attack: 1x24 thermal damage (7 ➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, massive impact, ignores
2 ▌ ▌)
Other abilities:
“Deploy smoke” (1➼, surrounds entire tank, once a battle);
Defense mode: “Hyper armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
Stagger immunity;
“Large target” (unit 15% easier to hit);
"Juggernaut" (can crush non-fortified obstacles when moved over it, that slows the unit down);
Prime rank: +1➼

These big boys are the sturdiest unit you have as the Vanguard. Unmodded and without special structure bonuses that is a base armor of 5, which is even higher when put on defense thanks to “Hyper armor”. Its primary attack deals a reliable, high amount of thermal damage which makes the Laser Tank to my go-to unit to mod it with laser weapon mods.
The Secondary attack overcharges the Laser Cannon into a shot that deals roughly twice the amount of damage of a single shot while also staggering target enemy upon a direct hit - it also bypasses 2 ▌ ▌. Since this ability doesn’t require full action points its best used if you want to both move the tank and deal a high amount of damage at the same time. This more powerful, single shot can only be used every 2 turns though.
The Laser Tank also has the “deploy smoke” ability which conceals the tank itself and all adjacent hexes - fantastic to support your Troopers with, who can also take cover behind the tank. Thanks to this ability the laser tank can be quite hard to hit for a “large target” unit. At prime rank the range of the Laser Tank is increased by 1 hex.
I can recommend basically any mod that boosts firepower and armor. "Laser precision module" is good in particular since it gives Laser Tanks a sizeable range advantage over most enemies, especially at prime rank. "Sequential kill system" is also a very good mod: Kill off an enemy with 2-3 shots of the main attack, then use the single AP to either: 1) Go on defense for +2 ▌ ▌, 2) Use the overcharged shot to deal another critical blow to your enemy or 3) Pop your smoke and do one of the previous two.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ High focused damage
+ Great mod potential
+ Versatile
+ Good accuarcy

Cons:
- No AoE attack

My final verdict:
Despite the nerf it received since launch it is still a great tank. It can be mass produced unmodded and still do well with that tough armor and potent gun, although I´d again recommend to have a lvl 4 or 5 military innovations center built first. Their mod potential is absolutly fantastic: If you follow a mechanized army doctrine you can mod their firepower to the extreme, while you can focus on armor/shield mods and use them as bunkers on tracks if you prefer an infantry army.

60💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
125⚡
25₡
440⌛
Role: Heavy Armor/Minor Artillery
Main Attack: 3x13 kinetic damage (7➼, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (2-9➼, FREE action, explosive, 1-turn cooldown, massive impact)
Other abilities:
Stagger resistant;
“Overwatch”;
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: "Improved overwatch"

Walkers and Laser Tanks both deal roughly the same amount of damage unmodded, while the Walker is slower in tactical combat, isn’t immune to stagger and has a weaker armor - so why use this thing? Simple: Kinetic damage channel. While it´s already pretty strong unmodded it´s getting insanely powerful with firearm mods like "rail accelerators", "kinetic phase modulator" and "fireburst ammunition". In order to counter the lower movement you should consider equipping the Walker with the jetpack mod as well.
The main attack of the Walker deals a high amount of repeating kinetic damage with the ability to stagger on a direct hit. The range is the same as the main weapon of your other Vanguard units. Which can´t be said for the “Upgraded Strike Missile”, which makes up the secondary attack of the Walker. Not only a high damage, massive impact attack with a max range of 9 tiles - it´s also a FREE action. This gives you plenty of damage potential on a single turn.
Here is a strategy I like to use with Walkers and many other tier 3/tier 4 units: First I´ll park them behind large cover. It has to be large cover, since "large target" units can´t hide behind normal cover, instead they function as normal cover themselves. After the enemy got closer and is in firing range, I step out from behind that large cover, use the "Upgraded Strike Missile" to destroy the enemy cover and then pepper them with 2-3 shots of the gatling gun. Your missile can also be used to slow down stagger resistant enemies or to deal damage from a safe distance. Finally, Walkers have overwatch, which is riskier to use offensively (as they are easier to hit), but allows you to set up a nice kill zone if someone tries to rush you.

Like harleyquinrazer said, Walkers really can be considered the artillery unit of the Vanguard. You can spam the missile attack since you can fire it every 2 turns, which sounds pretty similar to how the artillery attack of the Amazon Bombardon or Assembly Disassembler works - just that it´s even better than those!

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ Great mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Powerful Secondary attack

Cons:
- Weak armor (for high tier unit)
- Slower movement

My final verdict:
Definitly more situational than the Laser Tank. The incredible firepower this thing can unleash on a single turn is awesome, but getting it into a good firing position is quite tedious if you dont use the jetpack mod. The movement penalty doesn´t really matter that much on the defensive though, so if you are pushed back and have to defend your territory then shifting your Tank production over to Walker production is a good idea.
I usually use walkers either as a hero vehicle (the 4th mod slot really has a significant impact) or alongside an infantry stack as a mobile long-range artillery - I´d rather use Engineers with Gun turrets to screen a fully mechanized army.

60💗
32👢(amphibious, slower in combat)
6 ▌ ▌
0👅
170⚡
40₡
700⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x13 thermal damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Launch attack/skirmish/repair drone” (1➼, 3 AP (continue), 2-turn cooldown for fighting drones,
4-turn cooldown for repair drone);
Defense mode: “Hyper armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
Stagger resistant;
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

In my early days of Planetfall I used to really dislike the Drone Carrier and in a direct fight it´s a rather lackluster tier 4 unit. However, that was before I realized how powerful combat drones actually are and you can spawn in wave after wave of the things without a care in a world. Unmodded drones are okay, with mods drones are just outright disgusting damage-wise. Be aware that the drones of the Drone Carrier despawn after 4 turns, so keep the clock in mind.
Since you can launch every variant of drone the Carrier makes for both an amazing combat asset (the drones, less the Carrier itself) and a useful support unit thanks to the Repair Drones it can launch.
The Carrier itself can participate in a direct fight and certainly has the armor to tank a few hits - but usually you are far better off having it stay on defense after spawning in a drone. This unit really works best if it stays out of direct fights and just have the drones do the dirty work. Bringing a PUG for each Drone Carrier is also a good idea, since “resupply charge” and “smoke screen” are very useful when using Drone Carriers. "Smoke screen" can be used on Skirmish Drones to make them outright terrifying, while the Drone Carrier can spit out a combat drone every turn or two of the same type in succession if you use "resupply charge" on the Drone Carrier.
For mods any weapon mod goes a long way, especially the late-game laser mods turn the drones into a ridiculously powerful foe on the battlefield. To make the swarm tactic even more effective the late-game armor mod that gives +2 ▌ ▌ and reflects 50% damage back to the attacker is also perfect for the drones.

Pros:
+ Great summoning abilities
+ Good Armor
+ Great mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- Less Movement
- Lackluster damage for a tier 4 unit

My final verdict:
It´s a long road like with all tier 4 units, but if you go with a mechanized army then it´s worth it, trust me. Reliable and versatile healing in combination with disposable high-damage units allows you to turn most enemy armies into mincemeat without loosing a single paid unit. Drone carriers perform fine unmodded, but I would give them modding priority since their drones get improved alongside the drone carrier. If you go with an infantry focused military then I´d rather spent the resources on specialized support vehicles or trooper mass production.

30💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
Role: Disposable Strike Unit
Main attack: 3x11 thermal damage (5➼)


The Main combat drone of the Vanguard. Range and precision aren’t outstanding, but that can be neglected with good unit placement and sheer damage output. This drone can kill off almost any unmodded low tier unit with 2-3 full hits and that’s without the crazy modded Drones the Drone Carrier can spit out. You can use them to bodyguard your other paid units, to defend the Drone Carrier, to flank or to directly attack the enemy. Since they deal a ton of damage and are completley disposable you can pull off some really pesky attacks on the enemy. Since it has a shield, it´s also a good unit to use against enemies that focus on psionic damage.

My final verdict:
Potent firepower in combination with being 100% disposable makes these things scary if you can get them into position. Either you deal with them fast or their firepower will obliterate your forces quickly - or at least deal significant damage to it.

30💗
32👢(flying)
2 ▌ ▌
2👅
Role: Disposable Strike Unit
Main attack: 3x13 thermal damage (high impact)


Great if you are up against enemy melee units, who can’t do much against this drone. It deals even more damage than the standard Attack Drone and is perfectly suited for defensive screening duties - be it a pesky enemy trying to reach your Drone Carrier or to protect your other frontline units you actually have to pay for. They also have the toughest armor of all drones. Requires a litte bit more micromanaging and is more situational than the Attack Drone, but is very rewarding if you managed to pull off an attack. Also the only melee unit the Vanguard can really use in mass.

My final verdict:
It can be hard to get this thing into position, but it can kill almost any unmodded low-tier unit with 2-3 hits and with mods these small drones can rip right through high tier units as well. If you got a PUG available make sure to use smoke on your skirimish drones.

20💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌ ➼
2👅
Role: Support
Other abilities: “Nanite Repair” (2➼, 1 AP, restores 30💗 on any unit)


Not much to say about this drone. It can’t deal any damage, but it’s a free support unit that restores a whopping 30💗to ANY friendly unit. Need any more arguments to use Drone carriers? Also, likely to drop when choosing kleptomaniac as your vice. The only drone that most people I´ve come across seem to respect.

My final verdict:
Obiviously a great unit, the main reason to pick the APC starter vehicle as a hero weapon.

50💗
40👢(Water)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x12 thermal damage (7➼, ignores penalties against air units)
Secondary attack: 1x20 thermal damage (1 AP, 1➼, cone in front of the unit, 1-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

The basic naval unit of the Vanguard. The Frigate is a fast and formidable ship and with its 4 ▌ ▌ it can take a beating before going down. It´s main weapon is laser based, which means you can equip it with some nasty laser weapons mods to make it even deadlier than it already is without mods. The main attack also has no penalty against air units, which punishes players without a dedicated navy. Similar to the Laser Tank, the "laser precision module" is very good on the frigate since it gives the frigate a range advantage over other ships.
The Frigate has a secondary attack which is similar to the Assault Bikes secondary attack. The Frigate shoots in front of it, dealing full damage in a cone. This attack has a cooldown, so you can only use it every 2 turns. Regarding usage, the Frigate can both function as your main naval vessel or as a support ship for your more powerful Battleships - the choice is yours. Since Frigates are cheap and have increased movement they are definitely worth building on continents and pangea maps.

Pros:
+ Great Armor
+ Good Firepower
+ Higher Movement
+ Good modding potential
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- Only useable on water

My final verdict:
Being fast, cheap and very versatile a must-have on continent maps. They EASILY deal with invasion forces and you don´t even need to invest cosmite to make them outstanding. Due to their high movement and cheap price also a very good scouting vehicle - the enemy will bleed if they try to take it out with only a minor force.

70💗
32👢 (Water)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
10 ₡
250⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x14 kinetic damage (7➼, ignores penalties against air units)
Secondary attack: 1x22 kinetic damage (2-9➼, 3 AP, 1-turn cooldown, explosive, massive impact)
Other abilities:
“Launch repair charge” (7➼, 3 AP, 3-turn cooldown, repairs machines and cyborgs for 20💗, 1-hex radius);
Stagger immune;
"Large Target";
Prime rank: +300 morale

The big brother of the Frigate with better firepower. The armor of the Battleship isn’t stronger than that of the Frigate but it does have a little bit more HP. Having access the kinetic damage channel allows for very powerful battleship builds. The Battleship also deals more raw damage than the Frigate and has a long-range secondary attack that deals massive impact and can hit multiple enemies.
One neat and unique thing about the Battleship is it´s support ability: “Launch repair charge”. That is a very powerful healing ability that not only has a very long range but also heals in an AoE - only machines and cyborgs are affected though, so keep that in mind if you mix Battleships with biological units. Finally, the Battleship is a little bit slower than the Frigate, although not much. Like the Frigate, the main attack of the Battleship doesn´t suffer from penalties against air units.

Pros:
+ Good Firepower
+ Great Secondary attack
+ Healing ability

Cons:
- Mediocre Armor (for the price)
- Only useable on water

My final verdict:
This thing wipes the floor with embarked units and is quite dangerous to other naval vessels with and without mods. The only thing holding this thing back is the high price for a unit that can only be used on water. For that reason I´d only build them as Flagships for your fleets and only on continents map.

The Dvar are a faction of miners which made a huge profit before the cataclysm happend that destroyed the old Star Union. Left on inhospitable worlds they adapted and started to create their very own Exo-suits that protect them from their harsh surroundings. Today, these suits along with the big, powerful machines the Dvar field are what most people think about when hearing their name.
The Dvar are best compared to the Vanguard, since they have a very similar focus on machines. Generally their machines aren´t as high-tech looking as those of the Vanguard but rather a bit old-school looking.

Do NOT let this fool you though, the Dvar are an incredible powerful faction in Planetfall - many AoW3 veterans like to compare them with a Dreadnought. Sturdy units are the trademark of the Dvar. There is basically no unit the Dvar have in the field that doesn´t have a strong armor - even their main infantry have a strong armor, even though it´s a bit weaker when flanked, we´ll get to that in a moment. While the Vanguard excells in mid-range combat with options for long-range combat, the Dvar have an answer for every range involved. That´s because most Dvar units aren´t just sturdy but also have a melee attack! That really is the biggest different I was able to spot between Vanguard and Dvar.
Like the Vanguard the Dvar have access to the kinetic damage channel, which allows them to deal AoE damage pretty easily and have other very powerful mods available to them as well. The Dvar have a completly unique weapons tech tree: Explosives! That is another thing the Dvar excell at, dealing tremendous amounts of AoE damage with their explosive attacks. Their Excavator Tank deals a ton of burst damage while being a formidable foe in a 1v1 melee fight, while the infamous Dvar Rocket Artillery allows you to bombard your enemy from across the map with a repeating explosive attack - needless to say, these things are extremly powerful.
If there is one huge weakness the Dvar have, it´s their reliance on machines - so pretty much the same story as the Vanguard. Syndicate and Assembly can be a really annoying foe on the battlefield, while Syndicate and Kir´ko can be particular nasty with their psionic damage - the Dvar pretty much have nothing in terms of shielding on their units.
In terms of garrisons the Dvar also field quite good ones, since their base units without mods are still very effective. While not as strong as Vanguard garrions (my opinion), dvar garrisons can be improved by a mid-game doctrine which also removes their upkeep! Finally, the dvar are also the only faction that economy units: The cheap early game prospector and the late-game expensive Earth Crusher, which is the Dvar tier 4 unit.

Pros:
+ Explosive tech
+ Many AoE attacks
+ Good on all ranges
+ Strong armor
+ Good garrisons
+ Economy units

Cons:
- Lack of Shields
- very machine reliant
- some units have pretty bad accuarcy which makes the Dvar weak against aircraft

My final verdict:
The modding potential of most Dvar units is quite good, which allows you to turn out a lot of different, fearsome units if your cosmite income allows it. The unique explosive weapons tree isn`t just great for modding your own dvar units, most of them also work great with non-dvar units with explosive attacks - Vanguard Walkers and Autonom Justicars come to mind. Finally the good armor really starts adding up if you slap on armor mods or build units in cities with a military engineering guild - dvars can be incredible hard to kill.
Overall the Dvar are a good faction in capable hands, but the versatility clearly takes a hit if you compare them with the Vanguard. Accuarcy isn´t excatly the strong side of the Dvar - many of your attacks either hit and deal a lot of damage or miss entirely. There still is potential for an infantry focused military if you come across a lot of enemies with arc damage, but that would really counter the biggest advantage the Dvar have: their great late-game machines.

35💗
32👢(Amphibious, higher on world map)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
30⚡
130⌛
Role: Economy/Support Fire

Main attack: 1x14 kinetic damage (5➼, high impact)
Secondary attack: "Eat Dust" No damage (1➼, FREE action, refunds action points and can blind all adjacent units, cannot attack after use)
Other abilities:
“Prospect sector”;
“Expedited Movement”;
Prime rank: "Evasive"

The Prospector is less of a scout unit and more build around combat and mining resources. Amphibious movement and “expedited movement” do allow him to travel faster than most other Dvar units but it´s just no real comparison to a unit that floats or flies - like the scouts of other factions. The best use for unmodded Prospectors especially early on is as an economic unit: Drive onto the central tile of a sector and press "prospect for resources" which gives a small resource reward for each sector once.
During combat, the Prospector is among the strongest scouts there is. They have a single, low range attack that lets them throw a quite powerful bomb at an enemy - like all explosives that causes stagger. Then there is the “eat dust” ability, which might not deal damage but allows your Prospector to blind enemies and move into safety again on the same turn. Definitely worth using in early game armies! If used as a combat unit, I´d give them some cheap mods like "flash payload".

Pros:
+ Economic use
+ High damage
+ Good armor
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- Poor modding potential
- low range

My final verdict:
A very capabale vehicle especially considering the low price. You can produce a lot of these quick and even unmodded their firepower is quite good for a scout vehicle. Do make sure to utilize their economic ability extensivly, since it adds up a lot throughout the game - early game every little bit counts! I wouldnt recommend using it soley for scouting, since that would waste their economic and combat capabilities.

40💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry


Main Attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (7➼ )
Secondary Attack: 1x8 kinetic damage
Other abilities:
“Entrench” (Leave one AP, 2-turn cooldown);
“Exposed Flanks”;
Prime rank: "Bypass cover" (ignores 50% accuarcy penalty against units in cover)

The Trencher´s armor got reduced from 3 ▌ ▌ to 2 ▌ ▌during the small update on Dezember 3th 2020. Their front armor now only has a rating of 2, which means that the exposed flanks are going to be an even bigger problem now - the Trencher has NO armor when flanked! At least the Trencher kept his powerful ability called “entrench” that allows him to set up his very own barricade. In there he (or any other light unit you place in there) is a lot harder to hit and in case you upgraded the entrench ability with a mod Dvar units even regain some HP every turn.
The Trencher has a secondary attack called “shield bash”, which allows him to defend himself against enemy melee units if they weren’t able to stagger him first. This secondary attack causes stagger itself and pushes light units 1 tile away, similar to the main attack of the Vanguard Assault Bike. This is very handy, especially if the enemy snuck into one of your trenches or you are fighting another Dvar - and don’t have explosives yet.
Finally, there is one thing that really needs saying: That “Spike Gun” of the Trencher deals an insane amount of damage, even to high tier units. And it needs only one action point to be fired. Slap "Rail accelerators" on your Trencher and they become somewhat of a sniper. Since it fires only once, it allows you to use Trenchers in a very mobile way if you don´t camp out in their trenches.

Pros:
+ Good front armor
+ Spawnable cover
+ Good damage
+ Versatile

Cons:
- Weak to flanking
- Vulnerable to accuarcy debuffs

My final verdict:
The exposed flanks SUCK, you are in trouble if anything manages to flank you. Try to keep your enemies infront of you at all times. The improved trenches mod is absolutly mandatory for all your Trenchers, so dont be stingy here. While running from cover to cover is a viable strategy due to the single-hit attack of the Trencher, you should mostly play them defensivly at long range to reduce the chance of them getting flanked. I usually use Trenchers in a support fire role instead of being the main damage dealer.

40💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
270⌛
Role: Support Fire

Main attack: 3x12 kinetic damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: “Concussive Volley” No damage (5➼ , 2-turn cooldown, high accuracy shot that has a high chance of causing concussion)
Other abilities:
“Agile overwatch”;
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

When it comes to raw damage output, there is just no tier 2 unit that can really stand against the Bulwark - in ranged combat. Reason being its incredible deadly “Autocannons”, that will shred anything that gets close to your defense line. However, there are two severe disadvantages the Bulwark has. While it has firepower speaking for it, it´s main attack is pretty inaccurate and its armor isn´t that amazing either, which makes it easy prey if left out in the open.
I still think it´s one of the best faction tier 2s, since with careful play and good positioning you can keep your Bulwark losses to a minimum - while their firepower is still really good even late-game. And while I don´t want to go into too much detail with mods, fireburst ammunition does make the low accuracy of the Bulwark irrelevant.
Bulwarks come equipped with “Agile overwatch”, which is a vastly superior version of the normal overwatch - you just need 1 action point to set up an overwatch attack that triggers 3 times! If the situation allows it, you can just move a Bulwark RIGHT in front of a lone enemy - if they do something, they will get absolutely shredded by the "Autocannons". Other than that, it´s a handy ability to move the Bulwark from cover to cover while still maintaining its firepower.

Pros:
+ Fantastic damage
+ Powerful overwatch
+ Great modding potential
+ Solid unmodded performance

Cons:
- bad accuracy unmodded
- frail

My final verdict:
The gem of low tier Dvar units. This things firepower is just amazing and it really maintains this advantage till the end of the match. Mod this thing with priority: Most firearm weapon mods work great on the Bulwark, allowing you to create a diverse set of killing machines. Them being quite vulnerable to damage means you should mostly use them around cover, which is where agile overwatch truely shines. Does a fine job both as the main damage dealer of an army or as a support for your Excavators and Rocket Artillery.

50💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Support


Main attack: 1x10 kinetic damage (5➼,explosive, high impact)
Secondary Attack: 1x10 kinetic damage (might inflict concussion, massive impact)
Other abilities:
“Healing kit” (1➼, once a battle, heals biological unit for 25💗and dispels non-psionic effects);
“Incentivize” (3➼, +400 morale for target dvar unit, 2 turn cooldown);
"Biological recovery";
Prime rank: +300 morale

The Foreman received a substantial buff during the small update on Dezember 3th, giving him both +10💗and +2 damage on his primary attack - finally this thing actually deals some decent damage!

The Foreman has a somewhat odd main attack, that being his “hand mortar”. The damage isn´t that great unmodded, the real deal is the stagger it inflicts in a 1-tile AoE and that this attack can be used every turn. His secondary attack also packs a punch - literally. “Kinetic Punch” might only trigger once, but it has the chance to cause a concussion! Makes it the only early game unit that can do that.
Finally, there are his supportive abilities. “Healing kit” heals an adjacent biological unit for 25💗and dispels non-psionic status effects. If this sounds rather meh for a machine heavy faction then you aren’t wrong, though it´s useful in infantry heavy stacks even late game. “Incentivize”, which is their second support ability, strongly buffs the morale of one dvar unit. That is very useful for Bulwarks and heroes, but really helps any unit out. If you don’t have anyone else to use it on, the Foreman can also motivate himself. Make sure to give him the "reconstruction kit" mod once you´ve researched it, so he can repair/revive machines.

Pros:
+ AoE stagger attack
+ Can cause a concussion in melee combat
+ Morale Buff
+ Healing fixes debuffs
+ Good HP

Cons:
- Healing limited to biological units
- weak concentrated damage

My final verdict:
The most useful feature of the Foreman is that his attack deals high impact stagger on an AoE, thats super useful even late game. In order to get anything support-related out of them the reconstruction kit is an absolute must-have. Not only does this allow you to finally repair your machines, it also gives you a safety net in case something goes wrong. Slapping other cheap mods is a good idea, if you want to double down on the stagger AoE make sure to grab smart payload (its expensive but can be worth it if you dont have access to rocket artillery yet).

45💗
32👢(flying)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Aerial Strike Unit
Main attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (high impact, more damage with additional hexes moved)
Secondary attack: 1x14 kinetic damage (5➼, explosive, high impact, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Afterburners” (more movement range, 20% harder to hit, 20% more ram damage for one turn, 1-turn cooldown);
Stagger Resistant;
Prime rank: "Ignore overwatch"

This is an odd aircraft, to say the least. The dvar are the only faction that have a tier 2 aircraft that is focused around melee combat, which is both its biggest weakness and its biggest strength. Weakness as it can´t do much against a crowd of enemies, especially if overwatch is in play. Strength since that single hit deals an incredible amount of damage, especially if you activated the Ramjets “Afterburners” and spent all of its movement before attacking.
The Ramjet has a rocket it can fire every 3 turns - and that’s good to use if it´s just too damn risky to go in for a melee attack or have multiple enemies you can hit. For a flying unit the Ramjet is also heavily armored with a base rating of 3 ▌ ▌, which makes the Ramjet a sturdy aircraft. If you also factor in the evade boost flying units get the survivalbility can be a pleasent/unpleasent suprise, depending on wether its you thats using the Ramjet or your enemy. Not too useful in airforce stacks as it usually needs support from ranged units.
On prime rank the Ramjet also unlocks "Ignore Overwatch" (does what the name says) - that is insane for a melee unit and makes using the Ramjet quite a bit easier. Not very versatile overall, which is why I use it only on rare occaison outside of garrisons.

Pros:
+ Powerful single-hit attack

Cons
- Mostly limited to melee combat
- Poor performance outside of battles that already favor you
- Somewhat poor modding potential
- Situational

My final verdict:
Pass these things up, they are just far too situational to be worth using in either elite or regular armies. The damage output of that ram is good, but chances are very high that the Ramjet is going to die right afterwards no matter how much armor you slap on this thing. At that point your cosmite is better spent on almost any other of your dvar units, heck even prospectors.

50💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Support
Main Attack: 3x11 kinetic damage (5➼)
Secondary attack: 1x8 kinetic damage (7➼, 3 AP (continue), unit bursts out of ground and damages adjacent units with high impact, creates trench in the process, 1-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Seismic charge” (1 AP, once a battle, deals massive impact to all units in two hexes around the sapper, deals 30 damage to obstacles);
Defense mode: “Hyper armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
Stagger resistant;
"Cumbersome"

You can´t build this vehicle (honestly not worth it anyways), instead it can be summoned with a tactical operation during combat. The Sapper isn´t such a good fighter. It can deal a high amount of damage with its main attack, but it has a low accuracy and a low range of 5 hexes. The Sapper is best used to get rid of enemy cover or to dig a trench for you if your trenchers can´t or are unavailable entirely. “Assault Tunnel” lets you dig such a tunnel while damaging adjacent units - this backfires if you move your units in the wrong order!
In my opinion the more useful ability really is “Seismic charge”, that allows the Sapper to destroy or severely damage all cover in a 2 hex radius around it. What I like to do: Use “Assault Tunnel” to get close to the enemy, then detonate the “Seismic charge”. Tunneling, while requiring full action points to be used, leaves one action point after use to work with - just enough for the "Seismic charge". Once the cover is destroyed, I move in with my actual army. Alternativley I use this thing to dig some trenches for my troops, as mentioned above. From my experience the Sapper is unsuited for direct fights despite it´s good armor.

My final verdict:
A fairly lousy combat summon if versatility is important for you. In it´s niche it´s doing a good job: Destroying enemy cover and ambush enemies with the tunneling ability. My issue with this unit really comes down to the awful accuarcy it has - if it hits it does a good amount of damage but most of the time its missing at least 1 shot entirely if you arent within 2-3 tiles of the target. Even the bulwark doesnt struggle like that, which can also be modded to become quite accurate actually (rail accelerators + kinetic phase modulator). Useful if you need a distraction or supplementary damage, but not really reliable.

60💗
32👢(Land, less in combat)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x12 kinetic damage (7➼, strong impact)
Secondary attack: 1x12 arc damage (5➼, 1-hex AoE, might remove all action points from machines and cyborgs, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Reinforcement kit” (1➼, once a battle, heals 15💗 and adds 3 armor to a dvar, mechanical or cyborg unit);
“Nitro battery” (1➼, 1-turn cooldown, dispels negative status effects, increases damage output by 20% and movement of target machine or cyborg);
"Mechanical recovery";
Stagger Resistant;
"Cumbersome";
Prime rank: +300 morale

The baron is quite a behemoth for a support unit - sadly that means he is pretty slow in tactical combat. To make up for it, the Baron has a lot of HP, a base armor of 4 and a very powerful main attack called “Rotary Cannon”. It is basically identical to the “Autocannons” of the Bulwark, which means fantastic damage output but low accuracy. Barons also have a secondary attack they can use every 3 turns: The “disruptor device”. That´s a very powerful tool against enemy machines and cyborgs as it has the chance to zap all their action points.
Despite his punch the baron really should be used more as a support unit, as his slow movement prevents him from being used like a Bulwark. His “reinforcement kit” may heal only 15💗and is limited to dvar, mechanical and cyborg units - but it also adds a whopping 3 armor! I tend to use that ability before a unit gets into combat, as this additional defense adds a lot of survivability no matter what unit. Finally, Barons have the “nitro battery” ability, which dispels negative status effects on a machine or cyborg, increases that unit’s damage output by 20% while also increasing movement range. A fantastic buff for any of your machines, especially the big ones! That ability can be used every 2 turns. Like the Foreman, you should give the Baron the "Reconstruction kit" mod once you´ve researched it. Side note: The Baron is actually considered a machine unit by the game - try to keep that in mind!

Thanks to Charlando[SunsOfStmChrts] for pointing out that the main attack actually causes high impact stagger. Makes the Baron a useful unit for defensive battles, since the lower speed for more HP and Armor protection is a good tradeoff there. In open-field battles or when on the offense that slower speed is going to suck, however.

Pros:
+ Great Armor
+ Good HP
+ Good Firepower
+ Great unit buffs

Cons
- Less Movement
- Low accuarcy
- in terms of HP restoration the healing aint that good

My final verdict:
If you can afford them, use Barons alongside Rocket Artillery or Earth Crushers, otherwise stick with Foremen. With reconstruction kit the Foreman does fine as a machine healer while he can keep up with the Bulwarks and Excavators. The additional armor buff of the Baron can be used on any unit with great results, so make sure to use it early in the fight - else your faster units will be outside of the Barons range already. Since nitro battery is pretty much the only thing the dvar have to dispell debuffs on machines, its sometimes a good idea to save it up for that occaision.

60💗
32👢(Land)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Main Armor

Main Attack: 1x18 kinetic damage (5➼, explosive, 1-turn cooldown)
Secondary Attack: 1x20 kinetic damage (high impact, more with additional hexes travelled)
Other abilities:
“Defensive Flames” 1x16 thermal damage (1-hex radius around unit, might inflict burning);
Defense Mode: “Hyper armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
Stagger immunity;
"Large Target";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

The Excavator is pretty much the closest thing you get to a present-day tank when it comes to what I consider their main attack, the “Demolisher Cannon”. The range of the cannon is quite small, which is why the “Guided munitions” mod is a must have to get it up to 6 tiles. With that said though, the damage output is still worth it! Especially with mods the “demolisher cannon” deals an incredible amount of damage - and it deals full damage to all units in a 1-hex radius! Yet another disadvantage compared to other tanks is that this main attack can only be used every 2 turns - to be honest, it would be overpowered otherwise.
In Dvar fashion, the Excavator Tank is also heavily armored and can buff its armor rating by going into defense. When an enemy got close or the cannon is reloading you may also want to just use their “Ram” ability, which deals even more damage if you moved before using. Risky to use for such an expensive unit, but used right very powerful. If the tank gets swarmed by enemies or you see a good opportunity you can also drive the tank into an enemy formation and have its “defensive flames” wreak havoc in their lines. Overall a tank that really requires good management but is very rewarding if you use them right. If you want to give the melee ram attack a special twist add the late-game mod that gives it a chance to concuss enemies - the passive damage increase helps the "Demolisher Cannon" as well!

Pros:
+ Powerful burst damage AoE attack
+ Good Armor
+ Great performance against enemy crowds
+ Good backup melee attacks

Cons:
- low range
- poor unmodded performance
- has to reload main attack

My final verdict:
Gonna be only a "consider it" with this one. Excavators are able to dish out a tremendous amount of burst damage in a 1-tile AoE while being hard to kill themselves. It´s the glaring weaknesses of this tank that really let it perform poorly sometimes. The pathetic range is one thing, but the fact that you can only use a ranged attack every two turns really limits this tanks versatility. It´s great against crowds of enemies and if you mod them with explosive mods it can be a terrifiying one-shot machine - then again their unmodded performance is kinda sad.
Just stick with Bulwarks if you prefer versatility and medium range combat, especially if you haven´t unlocked all the good Excavator mods yet (Guided munitions is an absolute must have).

55💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
125⚡
25₡
440⌛
Role: Artillery/Tank

Main Attack: 3x9 kinetic damage (2-7➼, explosive, (+2➼ and +40% accuracy once stabilized)
Secondary attack: 3x11 kinetic damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Train Weapons” (1 AP, buffs accuracy and range of “Missile Barrage” until the unit moves);
"Cumbersome";
Stagger Immune;
"Large Target";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: +1➼

We are in for a treat now! Rocket artillery is among my most favorite tier 3 units in the entire game because of the insane range and damage potential they have. First things first: If you want to get any real use out of Rocket Artillery you need to use their “Train Weapons” ability, that boosts range and accuracy of “Missile Barrage”. It´s also helpful to know how to position these things properly!
When used with “train weapons”, this attack has a base range of 9 tiles, at prime rank it´s even 10 hexes! Invaluable during sieges but also very handy in any engagement really. And since this weapon fires in an arc you can park the Rocket Artillery behind some large cover, unreachable for your enemies.
Regarding mods, "guided munitions" is a good pick to increase the range even further. Other than that, mods that add a debuff on explosive attacks are very good too. Finally, Rocket Launchers also come with a “mounted gun”, which allows you to pick off single enemies that got close to the vehicle. Usually not worth going for directly since you are usually far better off using "Missle Barrage" on all ranges. The armor of the Rocket Artillery is weak for a tier 3, so make sure to keep them away from the close-range action when possible.

Pros:
+ Fantastic range especially with further buffs
+ Good modding potential
+ Repeating Explosive attack!
+ Good fallback attack against lone enemies

Cons:
- Weak Armor
- Low accuarcy if not stabilized
- damage output can be lackluster if unmodded

My final verdict:
Absolutly get this thing, it is incredible powerful. Unmodded the raw damage output can be somewhat weak, but really you should pump your cosmite into these things anyways. With Guided munitions a prime rank rocket artillery has a range of 11 tiles - at that point you can just hang back and let your rocket artillery pick off enemies from afar. Since aircraft cant be targeted with the rocket barrage they are the best counter to your rocket artillery - keep this in mind if you have to choose between your targets. Without doubt the best unit to outfit with the "micro nuclear payload" mod - a repeating AoE attack that removes 1 ▌ ▌ and 1 👅is insane.

100💗
32👢(amphibious, slower in combat)
7 ▌ ▌
0👅
170⚡
40 ₡
700⌛
Role: Heavy Armor/Minor Economy

Main Attack: 3x15 kinetic damage (5➼)
Secondary attack: 1x25 kinetic damage (high chance of instantly killing light units)
Other abilities:
“Tractor Beam” (5➼, 1 AP, pulls target unit to the Earth Crusher, massive impact, high chance to immobilize for 1 turn, 1-turn cooldown);
Defense mode: “Hyper armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
Stagger immune;
“Grinder” 1x15 kinetic damage (damages adjacent enemy units with a chance to immobilize);
“Earth crack” (requires energy and 2 turns, then grants you a huge resource boosts, turns sector into volcanic terrain);
"Cumbersome";
"Huge Target" (20% easier to hit, blocks line of sight);
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

For the time being, the glory days of the Earth Crusher are sadly over (a high range on the primary guns made sense, the thing is freaking huge). This Behemoth of a unit got nerfed into the ground in the “Tyrannosaurus” Update, reducing the range of its main attack to 5 tiles. With rail accelerators (almost a must have if you don’t want to expose this thing to a lot concentrated fire) you can get it up to 6 tiles at least. In terms of damage the “Defensive Cannons” of an Earth Crushers are still no joke, even without mods this thing shreds anything that doesn´t have a good armor - speaking of which, the Earth Crusher has a very tough armor itself and the “hyper armor” defense mode - not to mention 100💗!
The secondary attack of the Earth Crusher (or primary attack, depending on how you use this thing) is called “Crush and Process”, which deals an absurd amount of damage to a single enemy adjacent to the Earth Crusher - and has a pretty high chance of instantly killing low tier units. If an enemy is hiding behind cover, you can pull it in with the “Tractor Beam” - it also immobilizes the target most of the time. Finally, there is the passive ability of “Grinder”: Any enemy unit adjacent to the Earth Crusher is dealt 15 kinetic damage. Combine this with a “Crush and Process” and many units won´t live to see another turn.
The Earth Crusher also has a gimmick as an economic unit, that can devastate a sector for a very high resource boost, which requires 2 turns and some energy to start with - it turns the sector into volcanic terrain after completion. Useful for territory you don’t plan on annexing or to deal some permanent damage to your enemy if you can´t hold the territory permanently (unless they are playing amazons, they can just terraform the sector back).
I rarely use this ability though, as I´d rather have my Earth Crushers participate in proper battles. Due to the sheer size of the unit ("huge target") it is 20% easier to hit, but also completly blocks line of sight - you can use that to park your Rocket Artillery right behind it! It really works best for your Rocket Artillery, since it doesn´t have to step out from behind the Earth Crusher if it wants to attack.

Pros:
+ Fantastic Armor
+ Fantastic HP
+ Good Firepower
+ Economy unit

Cons:
- Lower movement
- low range
- expensive for an economy unit
- feels a bit redundant with Excavators and Rocket Artillery being a thing

My final verdict:
The low range on their primary attack in combination with less movement turns them into more of a defensive unit. The massive HP and great armor allow the Earth Crusher to take a ridiculous amount of damage, so using it as a battering ram or moving bunker can work out too sometimes. My issue with the Earth Crusher really is how redundant it is. Your Rocket Artillery, Bulwarks and Excavators are more than capable enough to fulfill your late-game high-damage needs - the earth crusher just doesnt add any real utility or new tactics that other tier 4s give you.

45💗
32👢(Water)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x12 kinetic damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x25 kinetic damage (massive impact)
Other abilities:
“Proximity Barrage” 1x22 kinetic damage (1➼, 1 AP, hits all adjacent units, 1-turn cooldown);
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: +10 crit chance

The Ironclad has a thick hull with a base rating of 5 ▌ ▌. That means it can take a lot of punishment unless the enemy is using arc or psionic weapons. When it comes to raw firepower, the Ironclad is average - unless of course you are modding it with sweet kinetic weapon mods. I can recommend the electrified ammunition, since that gives a huge edge in ship to ship combat. Rail accelerators are always useful as well, since it gives the Ironclad an actual range advantage against some other ships and air units.
The Ironclad has two reserve attacks it can use: 1st the traditional “Ram” that several Dvar units have and that deals a lot of damage to a single unit. 2nd the “Proximity Barrage”, that can be used every 2 turns and that affects all adjacent units. That makes the Ironclad a very good ship in mid-range and close-range engagements. In my experience the Ironclad sometimes has some really awful accuarcy and if left unmodded its performance suffers a lot.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Good modding potential
+ backup melee attack
+ versatile

Cons:
- Can only be used in water
- Low accuarcy
- weak unmodded performance

My final verdict:
Get them, but dont expect wonders from them if you leave them unmodded. With mods their ranged attack tears lightly armored targets to shreds, but without mods the mostly heavily armored enemy warships (or those doom turtles) wont take too much damage. The somewhat low accuarcy of the ranged attack also turns into a problem if the enemy utilitzes naval cover well. It´s quite a difficult balance between not wasting valuable cosmite on a unit you can only use on water and having an actual potent navy. Latter I would only go for if you are playing on a continents map that allows extensive naval combat.

65💗
32👢(Water, slower in combat)
6 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
10 ₡
250 ⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x12 kinetic damage (7➼, explosive, high impact, adjacent unit receive 50% damage)
Secondary attack: 1x24 kinetic damage (2-9➼, 3 AP, 2-hex explosive, high impact, must reload before using again)
Other abilities:
“Reload” (releases build-up smoke that conceals this unit and adjacent units);
Stagger immunity;
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
Prime rank: +300 morale

This thing is a beast: It´s painfully slow for a naval vessel, but it has an incredible strong armor that makes this ship pretty hard to crack without arc or psionic damage. It´s main attack deals the same amount of damage as the “Naval Rotary Cannon” of the Ironclad, just that it´s an explosive attack that deals 50% of it´s damage to adjacent units around the target tile. That´s a noticeable penalty, especially considering that the Ironclad can be modded to deal AoE damage as well.
Still, being able to outfit the Dreadnought with explosive weapons mods is very useful, especially the later mods that give explosives some real nasty abilities. With that said, the Dreadnought also has a nasty secondary long-range attack that deals a tremendous amount of damage in a 2-hex radius, that without any damage penalties! You could argue that this is the actual main attack of the Dreadnought, just keep in mind that you need to manually reload before you can use that attack again. This reloading actually gives the Dreadnought a handy support ability, as the smoke it expels while reloading conceals it and adjacent units from ranged fire - just make sure that the enemy doesn´t exploit this with their melee units! Unlike the Ironclad, the Dreadnought doesn’t have any ability to fend off melee units. This ship is also quite slow in combat, so don´t let your faster units get caught out in the open when the Dreadnought is still out of range.

Pros:
+ Great armor
+ Great burst damage 2-tile AoE attack
+ Repeating Explosive main attack

Cons:
- Less movement
- can only be used on the water

My final verdict:
An absolute monster if modded with explosive mods, especially that 2-tile AoE attack is nasty. In terms of damage the primary attack should be viewed not as an AoE attack, but more as a regular attack with a bit of splash damage. Propably the biggest downside is the reduced movement, so you should ideally try to force the enemy to come to you instead. While it can only be used on water, I´d still mod it to max potential and in doubt be stingy with your cosmite on the Ironclads. Of course, only build them on continents maps.

The Syndicate is often seen as the most evil faction of Planetfall and the campaigns don´t really help to change that reputation. Similar to the Rogue of Age of Wonders 3, you don´t HAVE to play as an evil person when choosing Syndicate - in fact, the Syndicate has an early-game doctrine called "Noble Diplomats" that actually rewards you for being nice.
When it comes to units, the Syndicate offers you by far the best infantry in the game, while they also have a strong hover tank later on in the game. You´ll quickly realize how powerful arc damage is in the game once you really see Indentured and Assassins in action - you can easily hard counter the machines Vanguard and Dvar players can throw at you.

Meanwhile the amazons can be a real pain with their strong shields and early-game "Grounding Harness" mod that grants resistance to arc damage.
Speaking of dealing damage: The Syndicate also has access to psionic damage! That´s devastating against biological and cyborg units, but is generally good against any unit - especially if you mod your units with "focus flames/venom". You heard that right, you have both the damage channel that hard counters machines AND the damage channel that hard counters biological units!
That´s just one more reason the already mentioned hover tank of the Syndicate, the Wraith, is a very powerful machine that is the most powerful tank against infantry/Cyborgs when used right as it´s cannon deals psionic damage - as a tradeoff you don´t have a faction unit/operation that can repair them if they get damaged.
When it comes to your own defense, you´ll quickly realize that the Syndicate has a strong focus on shield protection: Great in ranged engagements, but is worthless against enemy melee units - so watch out for those Kir´ko! While all of your units have shield protection, few of them have armor protection worth mentioning.
The Syndicate is also really the only faction that has access to a lot of units with stealth capabilities. Many of your units have "universal camouflage" allowing you to really get the drop on your enemy or to move large armies without your enemy noticing it - you even have a strategic operation that cloaks one of your armies if not all of them have camouflage. In the end, the Syndicate has one of the strongest and most reliable damage output of all factions, but many of their units can´t take a lot of punishment.

Pros:
+ Fantastic infantry
+ Good Shields
+ Agile and Stealthy units
+ Great damage output
+ Good base units

Cons:
- Weak armor
- Low survivalbility of units
- weak adaptability to arc resistant enemies

My final verdict:
The Syndicate is a really powerful and versatile faction. It´s the perfect faction if you value fast and hard hitting units, but the somewhat low survivalbility of your forces does require you to skillfully position your units and to make good use of their abilities. The plethora of concealed units is great for suprise attacks in multiplayer matches, but in singleplayer I hardly ever manage to get the drop on an AI player.
Your infantry is easily the best in the game. Your base infantry, the Indentured, TRASHES machines, same does your sniper which can essentially ignore all armor and shields with that Breach round. Meanwhile your Overseers and Wraith tanks can easily deal with enemies that are resistant to arc damage.

30💗
32👢(Floating)
0 ▌ ▌
1👅
30⚡
130⌛
Role: Scout

Main attack: 3x7 arc damage (5➼)
Secondary attack: 1x5 arc damage (5➼, 1 AP, once a battle, may inflict immobilized)
Other abilities:
“Universal camouflage”;
“Flanker” (+25% damage on flanking attacks);
“Escape Module” (randomly teleports 3 hexes away and revives with 15 HP upon first death);
Prime rank: "Evasive"

The Runner is the only faction scout in the game that is concealed, which allows you to scout out other players even when you don’t have an open border treaty. Don´t use them on auto explore if you want to avoid a diplomatic incident (on auto explore they ignore borders of other players). The Runner floats, which gives him great mobility both on the world map and during fights.
His main weapon is the “Pulse Pistol”, a weaker version of the "Pulse Repeater" that only has a range of 5 tiles. His secondary attack is an “Arc Bolas” that has a good chance of immobilizing an enemy unit - devastating when used on melee units, but rather meh on ranged units. If the Runner gets killed during combat, his “Escape Module” activates, which teleports him 3 tiles away and revives him with 15 HP. While the Runner isn’t too strong in a direct fight he does have “Flanker”, which you should exploit as much possible.

Pros:
+ Great damage when flanking
+ Useful secondary attack
+ revives once if killed

Cons:
- Low range
- low survivalbility
- redundant unless you want a dedicated scout

My final verdict:
They are good for scouting and with support from regular units they can have a decent impact in fights as well. Them being concealed is actually their most useful ability, since that really gives them a sizeable advantage as a scout unit - not getting spotted in the first place. This often prevents them from getting picked off by wandering marauders and allows you to keep tabs on what your enemy is doing without them noticing you.

40💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
1👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry

Main attack: 3x9 arc damage (7➼, 8➼ with prime rank)
Secondary attack: 1x12 arc damage (3➼, 1 AP, 1-turn cooldown, high impact, pushes back light units, 30% more accurate, enters defense mode after use)
Other abilities:
"Overwatch";
"Indentured" (Ignores any morale buffs and debuffs and has 2 psionic resistance);
Prime rank: +1➼

Reminds me of the Vanguard Trooper that deals arc damage instead. Both units play the same, just that the Indentured is a lot better against machines than the Trooper is, who in return has access to better mods and is overall more versatile. Just one similarity between the two is that both have "Overwatch". One advantage of the Indentured is that the range of his primary weapon is increased to 8 tiles upon reaching prime rank - he doesn’t need a mod to do so.
The secondary attack of the Indentured is the “Arc Power Blast”, that deals a bit more damage than a single shot of the “Pulse Repeater” while being more accurate, causing stagger and pushing back light units. Handy in order to get melee units off your face or to hit small target units (if you don’t have melee units that could do that for you). It can also be used every 2 turns, unlike the Trooper´s grenade. Since the Invasions update the Indentured is also put on defense after using "Arc Power Blast". Finally, the Indentured can´t be affected by morale buffs and debuffs. Regarding mods, the "Static Buildup Module", the "Arc Impact Module" and the "Arc Extension Module" are all fantastic mods for the Indentured.

Pros:
+ Good damage
+ Good secondary attack
+ good range
+ great modding potential
+ good unmodded performance
+ versatile

Cons:
- Mediocre accuarcy
- limited to arc damage
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
Easily the best unmodded infantry in the game just down to their potent arc damage. Even unmodded they easily dispatch machines and with mods like "arc extension module" they are relentless killing machines in the hands of a good player. The synergy between Indentured and your overseers is also great: You can have them attack twice on a single turn and the mere presence of one overseer gives your Indetured a significant chance to get a crit. Can fulfill a variety of different roles, from cheap but effective cannon fodder to elite shock troopers.

45💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
1👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Melee Screening/ "Bodyguard"

Main attack: 3x12 psionic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x16 psionic damage (3➼, 1 AP, chance to cripple target, high impact)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode: “PsiTec shield” (grants itself and adjacent allies +4 shields);
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

The Enforcer is your most basic tier 2 unit when playing Syndicate. The Enforcer fulfills the important role of a melee screening unit for the otherwise ranged-focused Syndicate - it´s also one of your tougher early game units. Apart from serving as a “bodyguard” for your ranged units, he can also be used as a devastating strike unit similar to a Kir´ko Frenzied or Amazon Lancer. Reason being that his attacks are actually psionic based - that melee attack will ignore all shields AND all armor!!! That allows the Enforcer to take on literally any unit in melee combat without any issues, unless that unit has stagger resistance or even stagger immunity.
The secondary “Bone crusher” attack gives the Enforcer a small-distance ranged attack that packs a punch and that he can use every turn - it can also cripple enemies. They´ll have a hard time running away from your Enforcer or can´t deal as much damage to him if they make a stand. The best thing about the Enforcer is his defense mode, the “PsiTec shield”: That grants +4 shields not only to the Enforcer himself, but also all adjacent allies!
Did I mention what a fantastic bodyguard the Enforcer is? This defense mode can be cancelled when he is staggered, but as he´s stagger resistant in the first place it´s not too hard getting him to stagger immunity - have fun dealing with that kind of Enforcer! Huge pain to take out in ranged combat unless your weapons can overload/bypass the shield or are strong enough to take out the target regardless.

Pros:
+ Psionic melee attack
+ very good defense mode
+ stagger resistant
+ sturdy
+ Useful ranged attack

Cons:
- Situational

My final verdict:
Since you are better off sticking to range with the Syndicate, it´s usually not a good idea to use Enforcers in an offensive role. Have them defend your formation against other melee or close range units, who will have a hard time against the Enforcer with his stagger resistance, high defense values and great defense mode. Since this defensive playstyle makes them somewhat situational, you should only ever bring one of them per army.

40💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x8 psionic damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Cerebral overwrite” (1➼, 1 AP, target indentured unit regains all action points and can´t die on the next turn, cannot target a unit that can´t take actions or move);
“PsiTec Revitalization” (3➼, 1 AP, heals biological or cyborg unit for 20💗 and dispels any negative effect status effect);
“Impose Discipline” (all Indentured in the army gain 10% crit chance);
“Biological Recovery”;
Prime rank: +300 morale

The Overseer comes equipped with a “PsiTec Staff”, that deals a decent amount of psionic damage - that´s a good base for mods, though I´d be careful using him as a dedicated fighter. Leave that to the indentured units, since the Overseer can buff them with “Cerebral Overwrite”, which refunds action and movement points, if they didn’t loose them to an enemy ability (as far as I know, stagger alone doesn´t count as enemy ability).
Like all faction support units the Overseer comes with a healing ability, in his case the “PsiTec Revitalization”, which heals 20💗 and dispels any negative status effect. The healing is somewhat weak yes, but dispelling any status effect (that with a range of 3) is pretty useful. He also grants friendly Indentured +10% crit chance just by being in the battle and you can give him a late-game mod that allows your Overseer to buff the damage of all indentured units by a significant amount. Finally, like all early game support units, the Overseer grants biological recovery to the army he serves in.
A good mod combination is "mantra of life" along with the special overseer mod that let´s him buff the damage output of all Indentured by 25% - since that buff affects all friendly Indentured, "Mantra of Life" will grant +2 shields to all Indentured!. Iguana-on-a-stick pointed out this mod combination.

Pros:
+ Good damage
+ Good range
+ Great healing that fixes debuffs

Cons:
- can´t heal machines

My final verdict:
One of the most powerful support units in the game. Their healing is great: It restores a lot of HP while also removing any debuff. As mentioned in the Indentured section, the AP reset of the Overseer and passive crit buff for Indentured units really work great. The overseer is also quite powerful in combat: It offers a potent and reliable source of psionic damage early on and later in the match if Wraiths are too expensive for you.

40💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
90⚡
270⌛
Role: Sniper

Main attack: 1x22 arc damage (9➼, 3 AP, high impact, can be buffed with "Breach round")
Secondary Attack: 1x11 arc damage (7➼, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
“Superior Overwatch”;
“Universal Camouflage”;
Defense Mode: “Evasion” (50% harder to hit);
“Breach Round” (1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, next main attack ignores 5 armor and 5 shields and is 30% more accurate, doesn’t affect Snap Shot and isn´t used up by it);
Prime rank: "Bypass cover"

In my opinion without doubt the strongest sniper in the game, apart from heroes with tier 3 and
tier 4 sniper rifles. Reason being that the Assassin can give his main attack a huge boost thanks to “Breach Round”. Once loaded (which takes a turn to set up) the next full-action shot penetrates 5 armor and 5 shields - that´s absolutely insane especially against late game units! Breach rounds also increase accuracy by 30%, enabling you to hit otherwise (nearly) impossible shots.
If the sniper doesn’t have all his action points left then you can also have him do a weaker snap shot that deals reduced damage and has -2 max range on it. Don´t worry if you loaded a “Breach Round” earlier: It doesn’t get consumed with a snap shot - that being said, the snap shot doesn’t get any benefits from your “Breach round” at all. On top of his fantastic offensive capabilities, the Assassin is also good at dodging if you left him on defense, while "Superior overwatch" makes him a deadly foe for incoming melee units. Thanks to “universal camouflage” he is invisible on the world map. "Arc extention module" and "Arc stun module" are a nasty mod combination used on an Assassin.

Pros:
+ Fantastic damage
+ Insane defense bypass
+ Good overwatch
+ good defence mode
+ Great modding potential
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- locked to arc damage
- frail

My final verdict:
Hands down THE best mass producable sniper in the game. Not only a great damage channel against the plethora of machines you will come across, but also an insane defense bypass that turns modded assassins into one-shot monsters. They are quite frail even for a sniper, so be careful around melee units or enemies with AoE weapons. If you are low on cosmite they work just fine unmodded even late game, thats how good they are.

40💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Support
Main attack: 3x7 psionic damage (7➼, +33% damage against other aircraft)
Secondary attack: “Hallucination Projectors” No damage (7➼, 3 AP, 1-tile AoE, chance to inflict hallucinating)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode “Mirage Field” (units below are obscured (25 % harder to hit), the Mirage gains a level of stagger resistance);
“Far sight”;
“Adaptive camouflage” (gives rough terrain camouflage to all units in the stack);
Prime rank: "Evasive"

The Mirage is somewhat weak when it comes to damage output, unless you gave it some serious mods. What it lacks in firepower, it makes up with a lot of utility for your troops. “Hallucination Projectors”, which can be considered the secondary attack of the Mirage, has a decent chance to apply hallucinating to your enemies - that’s -30% accuracy and all attacks against those units are considered flanking!
That’s a great synergy with units you gave the mod that grants it flanker. Other than that, the Mirage can also launch it´s obscuring field, which helps units in a 1-hex radius below it to evade enemy attacks. To trigger that just put the Mirage on defense, which also raises its level of stagger resistance. “Far sight” makes the Mirage a good scout, while “adaptive camouflage” allows you to conceal whole armies on certain terrain types. In short: Good for support, but requires mods to give effective fire support. The best mod for the Mirage are the "Spatial Acceleration Sails" that buff the movement speed of the Mirage and upgrade the "Mirage Field" to make units 40% harder to hit, instead of "just" 25%. Because of the weak damage output not a good candidate for airforce stacks.

Pros:
+ Useful defense mode
+ Good debuff

Cons:
- Weak damage
- Bad modding potential
- Too RNG reliant

My final verdict:
Easily my least favorite aircraft of all factions. Ramjets at least excell in their niche, Mirages on the other hand deal almost no damage whatsoever while being WAY more expensive to produce than the Overseer. The debuff is quite potent, but its RNG reliant - same with the increased evasion chance for friendly units below the Mirage. At the end of the day just too overprieced for what little it gives you.

40💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
4👅
Role: Combat support
Main attack: 3x11 arc damage (7➼, +33% damage against air units)
Secondary attack: 1x22 arc damage (2-9➼, massive impact, 1-hex AoE, 1-turn cooldown)

Other abilities:
Defense mode: “Evasion”;
“Omnidirectional camera” (overwatch in all directions),
“Superior overwatch” (+25% damage on "overwatch")

The Sentinel is very effective in combat for a unit you summon out of thin air. It has no armor at all, instead it´s relying on its strong shield and the evade boost air units have. This makes it a very hard target for psionic attacks, ranged attacks in general are less effective than normal. However due to the complete lack of armor, the Sentinel is easy pickings for any melee unit that can target air units, which means a few (large) melee units on the ground and any kind of flying melee unit.
The main attack is very strong against enemy aircraft, while its secondary attack (that can be used every 2 turns) deals a lot of damage in a 1-tile AoE, has a range of 9 hexes and delivers massive impact. To further boost the units survivability it´s defense mode gives +50% evasion chance instead of the normal +25%. The Sentinel has a very powerful "Overwatch" which not only deals increased damage but is also active in all directions thanks to “Omnidirectional Camera”. One of the most useful combat summons, especially if you get swarmed by enemy air units (bonus points if it are machines).

My final verdict:
Way better than the Mirage, this aircraft/robot deals a large amount of damage and has a great overwatch ability - without costing you any cosmite and without occupying an army slot. You
can´t mod them since they are a summon but thats literally the only serious drawback they have. Unless you can produce Wraiths early on its a good idea to unlock access to the Sentinel early on.

60💗
32👢(floating)
2 ▌ ▌
3👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Main Armor/Naval Support
Main attack: 3x12 psionic damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x20 psionic damage (3 AP, 2-turn cooldown, cone in front of unit, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Activate Wraith Drive” (7➼, 3 AP, 2-turn cooldown, deals minor psionic damage around target location);
Defense mode “Shields Up” (+2👅);
“Universal Camouflage”;
"Large Target";
"Juggenaut";
Stagger Resistant;
Prime rank: "Overwatch"

Wraiths are high-tech hover tanks that have a mobility other tanks can only dream of - especially on the world map. It´s main attack, the “PsiTec Cannon” deals a reliable amount of psionic damage, which is very effective against biological units and cyborgs, but lackluster against other machines. Thats why you should always support Wraiths with your infantry, which can fry machines easily with their arc damage. If enemies crowd up in front of the tank you can unleash a devastating “PsiTec Blast” from it, that deals its damage in a big cone facing forward.
I already mentioned the great mobility of this tank on the world map. Since it´s a hover tank, it can be used to great effects on the water as well. The “Activate Wraith Drive” teleports this vehicle for up to 7 tiles and deals a bit of damage in the process - not enough to make it worth though. Use this ability to get to a better firing position instead, as this ability keeps the tank on defense after use - so don´t worry about it being too exposed. Speaking off, apart from the Zenith the Wraith is the Syndicates most durable unit with 2 ▌ ▌ and 3👅, which gets increased by another 2👅 if you put it on defense. Like several Syndicate units the Wraith Tank has “universal camouflage”, which allows you to get the jump on your enemies. At prime rank you unlock "overwatch" for your Wraith, which is useful if you have to defend against incoming melee units.
The "Advanced Dislocation Drive" is a powerful late-game mod you can slap onto a Wraith which vastly increases the effectiveness of the "Wraith Drive" ability. That mod increases the teleportation range by 2 hexes, makes the Wraith 40% harder to hit for 1 turn after use and gives +2👅. It also increases the damage the Wraith teleport does by 50%.

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ Good strategic mobility
+ Teleport ability
+ Powerful close range blast
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Good Shields

Cons:
- Weak armor for a tank
- Somewhat weak mid-game mod potential, late game is a different story though
- Syndicate has no mechanics, making meaningful repair difficult without a hero

My final verdict:
While the Wraith can struggle against machines, it´s an absolute beast of a tank against anything without a strong shield or psionic resistance. You need to play it somewhat carefully if you didnt manage to get a support unit that can heal machines (from a different faction) but other than that they are very versatile and deadly. Since it is a hover tank it has a fantastic mobility on the strategic map, allowing you to cross rivers or oceans with ease - that in combination with their camouflage can be nasty suprise in MP battles!

60💗
32👢(floating, slower in combat)
1 ▌ ▌
3👅
125⚡
25 ₡
440⌛
Role: Support
Main attack: 3x12 psionic damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x14 psionic damage (7➼, 2-turn cooldown, high impact, can inflict "broken mind")
Other abilities:
“Deploy Cerebral Control Collars” (5➼, 3 AP, once a battle, attempts to take control of target enemy unit, else immobilizes it);
“Activate reanimation collars” (5➼, 1 AP, once a battle, reanimates target dead indentured unit with full💗);
Stagger Resistant;
Prime rank: +300 morale:
Impose Dicipline

in the small update from Dezember 3rd 2020 the Subjugator was buffed a lot, which finally makes him a viable late game-replacement to the Overseer - of course, you can still use both

The Subjugator is very useful alongside stacks that use many indentured units due to his unique revive ability that is focused on indentured units. It´s called “Activate reanimation collars” and brings back an indentured unit with full 💗. You can even gain new Indentured thanks to “Deploy Cerebral Control Collars” - one of the few convert abilities that lets you keep that unit after battle, although the unit is actually changed into an Indentured. By the way, units gained this way actually get to keep their mods, which is a pretty neat addition to your arsenal. If the convert fails, it still disables the target for a turn - so useful even when it fails!
When it comes to fighting for himself though, that’s when things start to become worse. Don´t get me wrong: He CAN deal a ton of damage, but since he moves slow in combat he isn’t as effective as the Wraith, which is also better armored. His secondary attack deals a good chunk of damage in a 1-tile AoE, more importantly, it has a chance to immobilize the targets. Super useful if you want to prevent enemies from either retreating or going in for melee hits - melee being a weakpoint of the Syndicate. If the immoblize fails, the affected enemies are inflicted with slow instead - so you always get at least something useful out of this ability.
Despite the strong buff, I still prefer to build the tier 2 Overseer. While the Subjugator now has "impose discipline" as well (giving indentured units a higher crit chance) he is still a lot more expensive than the Overseer. While the ability to revive fallen indentured units is very handy, the Subjugator still lacks any direct healing ability. Finally, there is still the fact that the Overseer can be equipped with a mod that increases the damage output of all Indentured by 25% - the Subjugator can´t use this mod.

I personally would recommend to use Subjugators ONLY in armies that have at least 3 indentured units and that already have an overseer (for healing). That still leaves you with one free slot that you can fill with a Mirage, Zenith or Wraith.

Pros:
+ Good Firepower
+ Useful albeit situational revive ability
+ can enslave enemy footsoldiers, turning them into indentured

Cons:
- Slow movement
- redundant
- too expensive for what litte extra he gives your forces

My final verdict:
Not a big fan of these guys. They deal the same damage as a Wraith while being MUCH less versatile and while their revive can come in handy it only becomes important if you messed up or are fighting a tough fight. The really nice thing about subjugators is their enslave ability, but even that is kinda meh considering your heroes can learn that ability as well once they are at a high level. You are better off building Overseers for a support role or Wraiths for a combat role.

70💗
32👢(floating, slower in combat)
2 ▌ ▌
4👅
170⚡
40 ₡
700⌛
Role: Fire Support

Main attack: 3x16 arc damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x25 arc damage (7➼, 3 AP, massive impact, 2-hex radius, high chance to cause electrified, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“House Anthem” (1 AP, 4-turn cooldown, all friendly units gain +20% damage and 200 morale for 3 turns);
“Reinforcement Zone” (7➼, 3 AP, 3-turn cooldown, all friendly biological and cyborg units heal to max💗, 1-hex AoE);
"Huge Target" (blocks Line of sight, 20% easier to hit);
Stagger resistant;
"Cumbersome";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: +300 morale

The Syndicates tier 4 unit has a powerful shield, but a very weak armor for a unit of its tier. It´s also slow in tactical combat but does have a decent amount of firepower. Its main attack is strong, although it doesn’t have any special twist to it unless you slap some mods on it. The secondary attack called “Cataclysm Cannon” on the other hand is incredible strong, dealing a lot of damage and massive impact in a 2-hex radius! It can only be fired every 3 turns though.
Other abilities include “House Anthem”, that boosts damage output and morale of friendly units for 3 turns. Sadly, morale doesn’t affect Indentured (and other indentured units), which reduces the usefulness of this ability quite a bit - the damage increase does help though. Best thing about the Zenith is clearly the “Reinforcement Zone”, which is a very powerful healing ability for your infantry, as it heals all infantry units in a 1-hex area around the target to max 💗.
I´d recommend to use it alongside infantry - it´s not that good in combination with Wraith tanks and Mirages as they can´t be healed by the “Reinforcement Zone”. In terms of mods, the "stun module" works out great with the "Cataclysm Cannon". Finally, the Zenith is considered a "huge target" - not just a "large target"! This debuff is only slightly worse regarding chance to get hit (20% easier to hit instead of just 15%), while it completly blocks off line of sight. That means it´s basically a mobile large cover - weapons and abilities that ignore line of sight (weapons that shoot in an arc) can still fire when behind the Zenith. Something like a Wraith Tank can´t, however, as it shoots in a straight line - you need to step out from behind the Zenith first.

Side note: See Subjugator section for an army composition that can include a Zenith which has worked out well for me.

Pros:
+ Good Shield
+ Good damage
+ Fantastic secondary attack
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Good mod potential
+ Powerful support abiliities

Cons:
- Less movement
- Pathetic armor for a tier 4 unit
- lackluster primary attack
- support abilities are better tailored towards other factions

My final verdict:
Pass them up, it just takes too long to unlock them and while their secondary attack is powerful the Zenith overall doesn´t synergize all too well with Syndicate units. Either you can heal infantry but cant effectivly buff their morale (unless you pass up indentured which I do NOT recommend) or you get an effective morale boost but a healing thats kinda worthless (in Wraith armies). So unless you pair it excusivley with Assassins and Overseers (which is an odd combination) the support abilities are too situational.

45💗
32👢 (Water)
2 ▌ ▌
3👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x11 arc damage (7➼, bypasses 1 shield and 1 armor)
Secondary attack: 1x18 arc damage (7➼, 3 AP, 1-hex AoE, applies static charge, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: +1➼

The Guild Cruiser is the only ship you can build as the Syndicate and is available right from the start like the weaker ships of other factions. The Guild Cruiser really shines in ship to ship combat, as the inert arc damage (which can be further improved with mods) makes short work of enemy machines, be it on the water or in the air. You´ll struggle against the amazon players that gave their ships "grounding harness" though, as you cannot change the damage channel of the Guild Cruiser.
The secondary attack that can be used every 3 turns shoots a single powerful arc shot that explodes on the target tile, damaging everything in a 1-hex radius while it´s guaranteed to apply 1 level of static charge - ideal for follow-up shots. It can be fired from behind large cover, since the projectile flies in an arc.
The Ship itself is sturdy for Syndicate standards, although you have to keep it away from melee units due to weaker armor when compared to the early ships of other factions - it really are the shields that give the Cruiser it´s survivability. If you want to mix up your naval armies make sure to mix in some Wraiths, which can operate just fine on the water. Wraiths also allow your naval armies to have multiple damage channels available to you and can support your invasion army on land once you hit the beach, quite similar to how other factions can use their aircraft. "Arc Extention Module" and "Arc Stun Module" are very powerful mods when used on Guild Cruisers. The Guild Cruiser gains +1➼ at prime rank, just like the Indentured on land.

Pros:
+ Insane damage against other ships
+ Good mod potential
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Good Shields

Cons:
- can only be used on water
- weak armor

My final verdict:
A similar story to the Vanguard Frigate, absolutly get this ship if you are on a continents map that allows naval combat. The guild cruiser is cheap, versatile and deals a ton of damage to mechanical naval vessels. The secondary artillery shell is best used to deny an area or to hit several enemies at once - keep in mind it travels in an arc so if you can use large cover to your advantage do so! Doesn´t really need mods to become good, but if you got cosmite to spare stun, impact or extension module are great weapon mods for a guild cruiser.

The Amazons are a faction of humans, specifically women, that conducted extensive bio-engineering on themselves in order to survive the Cataclysm that destroyed the old Star Union. Amazons are masters of their natural surroundings: They can call upon tamed animals for aid in battle, can terraform their surroundings into pleasant arcadian and forest sectors while riding powerful tamed beast in battle themselves.
The Amazons heavily rely on biological units, even more than the Vanguard and Dvar focus on their machines. Generally this results in an army that is far less vulnerable to arc damage, especially considering your early-game "grounding harness" mod that grants a high resistant to arc damage.

Add in the powerful shields many of your units have and you´ll come to realize what a nightmare a decent Amazon player is for a Syndicate player.
The Assembly has a hard time using their arc-damage units as well. Ironically, the same "grounding harness" mod is worth a mountain full of gold for the Vanguard and Dvar, as it allows them to eliminate one of if not THE biggest disadvantage their machine heavy armies have: Arc weakness. Seriously get this mod if you grabbed an Amazon settlement or took a colony from your enemies, that mod is right at the start of the racial tech tree!
Those shields also offer reliable protection against the psionic damage of the Kir´ko, but do NOT let them get close to you - the Amazons have almost no armor protection at all on their units, similar to the Syndicate. A couple of good placed melee units will ruin your day as Amazons and since all their units (apart from the Aquatica) are biological you are very susceptible to many different abilities that don´t affect machines - on the other hand, you really don´t need to care about abilities that only target machines.
When it comes to dealing damage, the Amazons aren´t the best faction - the many ways you can heal your units are the true strenght of the Amazons! Still, the chemical damage channel of the Amazons allows you to inflict some nasty debuffs on your enemies. I would recommend to actually stick with chemical damage for your Huntresses, Bombardons, Arborian Queens (and certain animals), since you can easily debuff an enemy´s chemical resistance with a cheap early-game tactical operation. Although equipping a couple of your Huntresses with the mod that changes chemical damage to arc damage doesn´t hurt, since that makes them stronger against machines - really, it depends on what faction you are at war with.

Pros:
+ Great healing abilities
+ can terraform their surroundings
+ good debuffs
+ strong shields
+ access to plant and animal units

Cons:
- almost non-existant armor
- some units have very limited mod potential
- complete lack of machines
- weak long-range performance

My final verdict:
The Amazons feel and play quite unique considering their plant/animal units and their terraforming abilities. The abundance of healing is great in all stages of the game and in combination with good shields it allows you to take some risks. The complete lack of armor on most of your units does make you very weak to melee units and since all your debuffs are easily fixed with the "cleansing pulse" ability you really are easy pickings for a kir´ko player.
Due to their melee focus and plentiful debuff removing abilities the Oathbound are dangerous as well - make sure to use your grounding harness mod if you face them! On the other hand, the Vanguard, Dvar and especially the Shakarn (who lack reliable options to fix debuffs or are weak to them in particular) can really suffer if you play your cards right.
My biggest issue with the Amazons really is the long-range weakness they have. So many of your units have a reduced range, most painfully noticable on your main infantry and your late-game Dinosaurs. This really does force you into researching and building a lot of Bombardons, since they really are the only true long-range option you have access to with the amazons - and in comparison with other "artillery units" the Bombardon is actually quite underwhelming. Finally the mod potential for your biochemical units is quite poor apart from the armor-melting early game mod - as mentioned above debuffs are just too easily fixed by some factions.

30💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
0👅
30⚡
130⌛
Role: Scout

Main attack: 3x9 thermal damage (5➼, +33% against air units)
Secondary attack: 1x12 kinetic damage (1 AP, high impact, can cause bleeding)
Other abilities:
“Far sight”;
Defense mode: “Evasion”;
Prime rank: "Evasive"

Remember when I said Amazon units can´t take damage? This right here is the squishiest scout in the game as it has absolutely nothing in terms of defense stats and has a HP of only 30. Using them as scout is your best bet, so these bad defense stats don’t have an effect - that way you also profit from their “Far Sight”. If they do end up in combat make sure to have them on defense whenever possible, as they are less likely to get hit thanks to “Evasion” defense mode - unless they get staggered by something first.
Regarding attacks, the Shrike isn´t that amazing. “Laser Repeater” deals a good amount of damage but has a low range with 5 tiles. “Swoop” is their secondary attack, which is a melee attack that puts the unit on defense after use. Overall, probably my least favorite scout unit because it can´t take damage whatsoever. Still better at actual scouting than the Dvar Prospector, though.

Pros:
+ Good scouting capabilities
+ Good defense mode

Cons:
- low range
- low survivalbility
- low damage

My final verdict:
Actually quite similar to the vanguard OWL ... just worse. The melee attack is almost pointless to use due to how little damage it does and the fact that it´s a death sentence for the involved shrike. Unlike the OWL, the Shrike lacks any type of support ability in tactical combat which is the reason I would only ever use them as a scout - that´s at least smth they are good at. Never ever spend cosmite on these things, that would be a complete waste.

40💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
1👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry

Main attack: 3x9 chemical damage (5➼, ignores cover accuarcy penalties)
Secondary attack: “Flash Arrows” no damage (5➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, high impact, might inflict blind)
Other abilities:
“Visual Acuity” (+1➼ when in cover);
“Forest Camouflage”;
Prime rank: "Evasive"

Really reminds me of the High Elf Longbowman from Age of Wonders 3, just with a shorter range. The Huntress has comparable stats to the Trooper and Indentured, although the range of her main attack is significantly lower with only 5 hexes. That makes Huntresses pretty weak in sieges, where long-range options are preferable. What their attack lacks in range does get offset with a very high accuracy, since the “Bio Arrows” of the Huntress ignore accuarcy penalties from units in the way and from cover.
The secondary attack of the Huntress is called “Flash Arrows”, chances are you already made contact with that ability already - the AI absolutely loves to spam that. And since “Flash Arrows” delivers high impact and might blind an enemy such a “rush in and fire away” strategy can work. Finally, Huntresses are invisible in forests on the world map and gain +1➼ on their attack when in cover - so make sure to use your terrain to your advantage! A great mod for Huntresses is the early-game mod that allows chemical attacks to remove 1 ▌ ▌per hit - fantastic for a repeating attack!

Pros:
+ Fantastic accuarcy
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Useful debuff

Cons:
- low range
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
Huntresses have an absolutly FANTASTIC accuarcy, whatever target is in range and in line-of-sight is almost guaranteed to be hit. However, the low range of the Huntress makes her incredibly weak in long range engagements - due to her lack of meaningful defense stats getting in close often leads to certain demise.
Also important is to play around cover, since that bumps up the range to 6 tiles which is at least a little better than out in the open. In terms of firepower huntresses are quite difficult to mod due to her biochemical damage type, since debuff based mods aren´t a good option due to her repeating attack.

50💗
40👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
2👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Strike unit

Main attack: 3x12 thermal damage (high impact, deals more damage if unit moved at least 3 tiles first)
Secondary attack: 1x16 thermal damage (1 AP, 5➼)
Other abilities:
“Flanker” (+25% damage on flanking attacks);
Defense mode: “Shields Up”(+2👅);
Prime rank: "Evasive"

The Lancer is somewhat comparable with the Vanguard Assault Bike, which functions similar regarding role in combat. The Lancer really is made for quick strikes against the enemy and can deal an incredible amount of damage, especially with 2-hit charge attacks. An attack is considered a charge when you moved the Lancer 3 tiles before attacking, just like it was with cavalry in Age of Wonders 3. Worth mentioning here is that the Lancer has more movement than other units have - very useful on a melee unit!
Apart from their strong melee attack they do have a ranged option with “Laser Lance”. It has a rather low range but deals good damage - ideal if you want to stay in cover but still want to deal damage. Lancers also have the “Flanker” ability, which means they deal 25% more damage on flanking attacks - keep that in mind if a good opportunity arises. Their defense mode is also quite good, as it grants an additional 2👅 to the unit. Overall a fast and reasonable tanky unit, but vulnerable to other melee units due to a weak armor. For mods you might want to take something that gives more survivalbility to the unit - especically something that gives stagger resistance!

Pros:
+ Sturdy
+ Good defense mode
+ Great damage
+ useful ranged attack

Cons:
- lack of stagger resistance
- cannot change damage channel

My final verdict:
Sturdy for a low tier unit, but the lack of stagger resistance really limits her potential. Grounding harness (or any other mod that gives stagger resistance) is an absolute must-have mod to counter this glaring weakness. Also weak is her armor, so try to avoid confrontations with another melee unit. Her high mobility in combination with a good shield and the "charge" damage boost make her far better suited to go after enemy ranged units. For maximum damage, try to get a 2-hit charge attack - bonus points if you managed to flank the enemy.

35💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
3👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x8 chemical damage (5➼)
Secondary attack: “Manipulate: Sleep” No damage (5➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, chance to put biological, mineral or cyborg unit to sleep, else it inflicts “slow”)
Other abilities:
“Manipulate: Mend” (5➼, 1 AP, heals 25💗 and removes non-psionic status effects);
“Scan: Catalogue” (9➼, 1 AP, target unit and all equivalent units gain -2 damage resistance to ALL channels, 4-turn cooldown);
"Biological Recovery";
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

Honestly the best support unit if you are mostly using biological units, which is why the Biomancer is such a fantastic fit for the Amazons. They might not deal that much damage with their “Bio Blaster”, but have several key abilities that really can change the tide of battles - heck entire wars. First off, they come with the best faction healing for biological units, since it has a range of 5 tiles, heals for 25💗 and removes non-psionic status effects.
“Manipulate: Sleep” is also an incredible powerful tool to basically take a biological/cyborg/mineral unit out of the fight for 2 turns - its basically guaranteed to work on tier 1 units. It can also be used to make converting animals much easier. Finally, there is “Scan: Catalogue” which is a devastating debuff with a huge range of 9 tiles and affects all equivalent units - not just the target itself. What does it do? It lowers damage resistance for all channels by 2 points - that for several turns! Outrageous to fight against and very good when you can use it yourself. Biological recovery makes the deal perfect. I do hope this gets nerfed in the future seeing the Biomancer spam that´s going on especially when up against AI players.

Pros:
+ Great healing
+ Fantastic debuff
+ good damage

Cons:
- low range
- poor mod potential

My final verdict:
Another very good support unit. The healing is very powerful and has a massive range, which makes the Biomancer a great asset for any infantry focused army. The "scan: catalogue" is perhaps the most devastating debuff a low tier unit can inflict on the enemy, especially because it not only can be used several times in a battle but also because it affects ALL identical units the enemy has on the battlefield. This really is the ultimate counter to AI spam tactics, since the only good counter to this is to have a diverse army setup. Unless my secret tech offers something good, I prefer to leave my Biomancers unmodded.

60💗
32👢(Land)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
90⚡
270⌛
Role: Fire Support
Main attack: 3x10 thermal damage (7➼ )
Secondary attack: 1x8 kinetic damage (7➼ , 3 AP, 1-hex AoE, 2-turn cooldown, may cause bleeding and entangled)
Other abilities:
“Manipulate: Shields” (5➼ , FREE action, +3👅for target unit for 3 turns);
Defense Mode: “Plant Roots” (+2 ▌ ▌, 6💗regeneration, becomes stagger immune);
Stagger Resistant;
"Large Target";
"Overwatch";
"Forest Camouflage";
Prime rank: "Bypass cover"

The Amazons are the only faction in the game that have access to plant units without buying them from the Growth. Despite it´s big size the Arborian Sentinel is still somewhat of a lightweight when it comes to your Amazon units. Its main weapon deals a decent amount of thermal damage on standard range - which is useful since Huntresses have reduced range. Sentinels also have "Overwatch" and a handy secondary attack called “Thorn roots” which might not deal a lot of damage, but can inflict bleeding and entangled in a 1-tile radius around the target - especially good against melee units or short-range ranged units.
The Sentinel also comes with a support ability, the “Manipulate: Shields”. It´s a FREE action, that grants target unit a whopping +3👅, making ranged weapons a lot less effective. Both useful on vulnerable units and on tanky units. Since it´s a plant, the Arborian Sentinel has the “Plant Roots” defense mode, which grants +2 ▌ ▌, 6💗regeneration and stagger immunity - however since it´s a plant, it´s also weak against thermal damage - keep that in mind when up against the Vanguard, other Amazons, Autonoms and to a lesser degree the Dvar (fireburst ammunition changes kinetic to thermal damage).

Pros:
+ Good damage
+ mid-range unit
+ Good defense mode
+ Great shield buff
+ arc resistance

Cons:
- thermal weakness
- low accuarcy
- large unit

My final verdict:
All things considered a very solid unit that can serve as a medium-range heavy infantry. The size of the unit can be countered by using the shield buff on itself, which makes the Sentinel suprisingly sturdy sometimes. Compared to Huntresses, their mod potential is also a lot better since the Sentinel uses a thermal attack. The Secondary attack can come in handy if you are dealing with enemy melee units which nicely counters the Amazons weakness to melee units. Overall a unit I would mass produce if you got the energy.

40💗
32👢(Flying)
1 ▌ ▌
1👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Airforce
Main attack: 3x10 thermal damage (7➼, +33% damage against air units)
Secondary attack: 1x18 thermal damage (6➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, small cone pattern)
Other abilities:
“Superior Overwatch”;
Stagger Resistant;
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

The Harrier is the Amazons equivalent to the Vanguard Gunship, since both can serve a similar purpose. In comparison, the Harrier deals more raw damage and has "Superior Overwatch", the Gunship on the other hand is harder to hit with each hex moved and can be equipped with better weapon mods. Which one of the two is better is pretty much up to preference, however the Harrier is a useful asset for the Amazons regardless since having a potent airforce is always good.
Like most faction air units the “Interception Blasters” deal more damage against other air units, while their secondary AoE attack (small cone pattern) can deal a tremendous amount of damage. I´ve already mentioned the overwatch ability - in fact it´s "Superior Overwatch" (+25% damage). That makes the Harrier a difficult obstacle for enemy melee units - especially the flying ones!
For mods, the final laser mods are always a good idea - but will make your Harriers very expensive. The "Spirit Link Module" allows you to unleash devastating critical attacks. The +20% evasion chance and +2👅of that mod also go a long way, though it´s gonna take a lot of research to get the mod in the first place - but believe me it is SO worth it, especially if you can further raise the crit chance with other mods.

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ overwatch
+ powerful 2nd attack
+ good mod potential
+ good unmodded performance

Cons:
- somewhat frail

My final verdict:
The raw damage of the Harrier is nothing to scoff at, it easily brings down any unit that isn´t resistant to thermal damage. The mod potential is pretty insane, apart from the obvious thermal weapon mods you can slap some great morale boosting mods on the harrier and it will crit like crazy. The secondary attack is a great tool to damage several enemies at once and since it´s a thermal attack as well it will profit from the same weapon mods as your primary attack.

60💗
32👢(Amphibious, slower in combat)
1 ▌ ▌
3👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Artillery

Main attack: 3x15 chemical damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x18 chemical damage (2-9➼, 3 AP, 1-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
Defense mode: “Shields Up” (+2👅);
Stagger resistant;
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Firm"

The Bombardon is your first elite unit and unlike many other factions, I´d argue that you actually MUST get it in order to offset for the low range of your Huntresses. The Bombardon is somewhat of a mix between artillery and a biological tank. It deals an incredible amount of chemical damage, even unmodded they can kill many units on a single turn. Their secondary attack can be used every 2 turns and functions like a traditional artillery shell. It deals high impact, travels in an arc and has a max range of 9 tiles.
When it comes to survivability, they can take the one or other hit, but are weak to melee units due to their reliance on their shield strength - I don´t think I need to mention that they are doomed against units that have shield penetration or shield overload. While at the topic, it´s defense mode actually boosts shield strength by another 2 - so if there is no good enemy to shoot in between turns keep it on defense. Finally, they are stagger resistant - useful as their secondary attack requires full action points. If you are up against a lot of machines it can be useful to give this beast the mod that changes chemical to arc damage - FYI the firing animation is gonna look very weird if you do. Apart from that, other (high tier) chemical weapon mods work very good on the Bombardon.

Pros:
+ Long-range unit
+ Great damage
+ Good shields

Cons:
- weak armor
- has to reload secondary attack

My final verdict:
There is no real point to discuss it: If you can´t get your hands on long-range units of other factions, the Bombardon is an absolute must have. The Bombardon allows you to damage enemies far away and force them to come to you - right into the arms of your huntresses. Mod potential is decent as well, the Bombardon can be used as a long-range debuffer since it uses a single-hit attack. As with most amazon units, keep melee units away from the Bombardon since it has almost no armor.

65💗
40👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
3👅
125⚡
25 ₡
440⌛
Role: Brawler

Main attack: 3x15 thermal damage (5➼, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x23 kinetic damage (1 AP, massive impact, hits all 3 tiles in front of unit)
Other abilities:
Defense mode: “Shields Up”, “Mighty Roar” (1 AP, 4-tile cone in front of unit, chance of inflict "panicked" on all affected units, applies stagger on failure, 3-turn cooldown);
Stagger resistant;
"Large Target";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

The Tyrannodon is a mighty beast, both in appearance and in stats. When it comes to raw survivability, it´s pretty much the best you get with Amazons despite its big size. The Tyrannodons main attack deals a tremendous amount of thermal damage - easily capable to dispatch any unit that comes too close to it … which gets us to it´s biggest weakness. Similar to the Huntresses, the Tyrannodon has a low range of 5 on its main attack, which requires a good use of the terrain in order to be effective - it´s best used alongside long range units to force the enemy to come to you instead.
It also comes with a handy and powerful “Tail Swipe”, which counts as a melee attack - useful on high-shield targets. It deals massive impact, hits all 3 tiles in front of the Tyrannodon and can be used every turn. This unit is really made for close and mid-range fights, which is further underlined by it´s special “Mighty Roar” ability, which is an ability that can cause non-mindless units to become panicked (when resisted they are still staggered) - that in a 5-tile cone in front of the Tyrannodon.
In short: You do not want this thing to be close to you - keep it at a distance, which is easier said that done due to the incredible high movement the Tyrannodon has for being a large unit. Regarding mods, you can mod them similar to the Laser Tank of the Vanguard. "Laser precision module" makes the Tyrannodon much more effective at range, while the "Searing module" increases the damage output tremendously.

Pros:
+ Sturdy
+ Good damage
+ Great debuff
+ High movement

Cons:
- Low range
- low accuarcy
- poor unmodded performance

My final verdict:
It can only be a "consider it" here. The Tyrannodon (or simply the dinosaur) deals a tremendous amount of damage and has a very powerful debuff, but due to the low range of both abilities it has to expose itself to a lot of fire. Without the "laser precision mod" or mods that buff the survivalbiltiy of the Tyrannodon it doesn´t perform all to well.
Even if you get it into the right spot the low accuarcy of the main attack can still screw you over. The backup melee attack can be useful if swarmed by multiple enemies, but usually it´s better to unleash your laser attack against a lone enemy.

80💗
32👢(amphibious, slower in combat)
1 ▌ ▌
4👅
170⚡
40₡
700⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x15 chemical damage (7➼)
Secondary attack: 1x12 kinetic damage (7➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, 2-hex AoE, massive impact, may entangle affected units)
Other abilities:
“Hyperpollination” (1 AP, all biological/cyborg units in a 4-hex radius around the unit are healed for 35💗 and gain "Hyper Focused", 4-turn cooldown);
“Regrowth” (1➼, 1 AP, target dead animal or plant unit is revived and put under your control);
Defense mode: “Plant Roots”;
"Biological Recovery";
Stagger resistant;
“Spawn Forest”;
"Cumbersome";
Prime rank: +1➼

This is actually a very useful tier 4 both in a direct fight and as a support for your army. Offensively, the Arborian Queen has the same “Bio Cannon” as the Bombardon, allowing her to melt enemies in chemicals quite easily. Her secondary attack called “Root Quake” is a more powerful, scaled up version of the “Thorn Roots” of the Arborian Sentinel: It costs only 1 AP and can´t cause bleeding, but inflicts more direct damage, affects a 2-hex radius and can inflict entangled.
While these offensive capabilities are already very useful, it´s the support abilities that make this unit shine out from some of the other tier 4s. For one, there is its “Hyperpollination”, which is a massive 4-tile radius AoE healing that restores 35💗 and grants "Hyper Focused". That increases morale by 200 and accuracy by 20% - it does only work on biological and cyborg units.
Then the Arborian Queen also has a revive ability at her disposal: “Regrowth” targets a dead animal or plant unit and revives it with full HP - regardless of previous ownership! Only exception to this are other Arborian Queens, else the world of converts and revivals is wide open for you. Finally, this unit also has the “Plant Roots” defense mode and grants biological recovery to the army it´s in. A couple chemical weapon mods can be useful on this unit, but like many tier 4s it´s good enough to use even without mods.

Pros:
+ insane healing ability
+ good damage
+ good secondary attack
+ can revive plant/animal units
+ arc resistance

Cons:
- thermal weakness
- can´t revive regular infantry

My final verdict:
An absoulte beast of a tier 4 unit and unlike the previous tier 4 we covered it synergizes really well with its own faction. The damage is identical to the bombardon, so really good. The secondary attack gives you great control of the battle if you are facing melee/close range units and the insane AoE healing turns the Aborian Queen into a great support unit as well. The revive ability can be somewhat situational if used in armies with regular units, which is why I would pair the Aborian Queen with - quite fittingly - Aborian Sentinels. They are considered a plant unit after all, which allows you to revive fallen sentinels if the need arises.

45💗
32👢(water)
2 ▌ ▌
2👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x12 chemical damage (7➼, chance to inflict "blinded")
Secondary attack: 1x8 kinetic damage (5➼, 1 AP, 1-tile AoE, chance to inflict both “immobilize” and “disable”)
Other abilities:
Defense mode: “Submerged” (40% harder to hit and regens 6💗);
Stagger resistant;
"Submerge" (immune to "burning" and "immolation");
Prime rank: +1➼

Your regular Navy unit, which is somewhat of a biological submarine. It´s main attack deals a good amount of chemical damage and might even blind enemies upon a direct hit. It´s also really important to note that the Hydromancer is a biological unit, which is a big advantage as the enemy can´t abuse any arc weakness most other naval units have. At the same time, the chemical weapons tree allows you to outfit your Hydromancers with arc damage themselves - that can be REALLY annoying to fight against unless you are playing Kir´ko or Amazons yourself.
The secondary attack “Manipulate: Water” deals a bit of kinetic damage and might inflict "immobilized" and "disabled" on units caught in this 1-tile AoE attack. Finally, like mentioned in the beginning, the Hydromancer is like a biological submarine, hence it has the defense mode “submerge”, making it 40% harder to hit and allowing it to regain 6 HP. Due to the underwater nature of this units it´s immune to "burning" and "immolation".

Pros:
+ Good damage
+ Powerful secondary attack

Cons:
- poor mod potential
- can only be used on water

My final verdict:
Like most low tier naval units very potent against embarked units. In comparison with other naval vessels the Hydromancer does suffer a bit due to the fairly weak mod potential it has. This
doesn´t really matter all too much since other players and even the AI rarely ever mod their own ships - but if you do come across a powerful fleet of warships the outcome usually isn´t in your favor. Do make use of the secondary immobilize/disable ability, since this is really the only true advantage the Hydromancer has over more conventional ships.

70💗
32👢(water)
0 ▌ ▌
5👅
70⚡
10 ₡
250⌛
Role: Navy

Main Attack: 3x15 thermal damage (5➼, bypasses 2👅)
Secondary Attack: “Aquatic Luring” no damage (1➼, 3 AP, spawns in a friendly sea create, 3-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode: “Shields Up”(+2👅);
“Manipulate: Shield dome” (5➼, 1 AP, grants a buff to a unit for 2 turns, which gives it and adjacent friendly units +3👅);
Stagger immune;
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Overwatch"

An Amazon exploration ship refitted for combat, which makes it the only machine the Amazons use. I like to compare this ship to the Tyrannodon, since it works in a similar way: Low range main attack, but in return it deals a tremendous amount of damage and in case of the Aquatica even ignores 2👅. Apart from this main attack the Aquatica can also use “Aquatic Luring” to spawn in a friendly animal unit to fight for you - yep free units and most of them actually pack a punch too.
The defense mode boosts the already powerful shields by another 2 points and thanks to “Manipulate: Shield Dome” the unit can even grant an ally a Shield Dome that gives +3👅 for it and friendly adjacent units - the enemy actually can´t abuse that!
However, there is one HUGE weakness the Aquatica has, which are melee units. Especially the Kir´ko and (ironically) animals can seriously ruin your day as this ship doesn’t have any armor- and fret not Vanguard, as they can seriously ruin the Amazons day with their “shield overload” mod they can give to Frigates. So, don´t get too overconfident with your Aquaticas!

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ Summoning ability
+ Great shield
+ Useful buff

Cons:
- low range
- no armor

My final verdict:
Much more of a support vessel than a true battleship. The summon ability is the most outstanding ability of the Aquatica, since all of the summons pack a real punch and serve as a valuable and disposable distraction for your enemy. The shield dome ability is also pretty great, really showing the shield potential the Amazons have.
Where this unit really falls off the deep end is the combat capability. The low range on your ranged attack sucks especially considering how open most naval battles tend to be - not to mention all the powerful warships of other faction which can barrage the Aquatica from across the map. Modding this vessel is kinda pointless, since you are much better of using it as a support unit.

Kir´ko are a very unique faction in the game, being the only alien race you can play without DLCs. Kir´ko are an insect race that were once enslaved by the old Star Union. With the Cataclysm came freedom for the Kir´ko and the opportunity to seek vengeance against their enslavers or to give peaceful co-existance another shot.
The trademark of the Kir´ko are their incredible powerful melee units, which will shred anything that has no proper armor protection. That makes the Kir´ko particulary nasty against the Syndicate and the Amazons, who have next to no armor protection on their units. And if the Kir´ko do come across heavily armored units from the Vanguard and Dvar they have psionic damage to help them out.
Their other damage channel is chemical, which is used by their Engulfers and Barragers - however, the main focus really lies on psionic and melee damage!
Each Kir´ko unit has the special "Swarm Shield" ability, granting them +2 shield if they are adjacent to another unit with "Swarm Shield". That rewards keeping a tight formation, especially with melee units - but it also makes you really vulnerable against AoE attacks, so know when and when NOT to bunch your units up together. While being on the topic the Kir´ko can generally take more punishment than humans can, which results in a solid armor rating on many of their fighting units. Shields are mostly used by more support focused units and high tier units - but every unit can have shields thanks to the already mentioned "Swarm Shield".
Regarding units, Kir´ko have 2 melee powerhouses: The Frenzied, which also makes up the main infantry of the Kir´ko, and the Ravenous, which is outright terrifiying if used with the "tunneling claws" mod. Kir´ko Hidden use psionic sniper rifles and give you a long-range option. Meanwhile the Kir´ko have a powerful air unit, the Engulfer, that can deploy a deadly cloud of armor-melting acid to block of chokepoints or to force the enemy out of their cover.
But of course, not all things about the Kir´ko are great. Their "Swarm Shield" is useless if you
can´t afford to group your units together due to AoE weapons. The reliance on melee units can backfire hard if the terrain is not in your favor or when the enemy has such a powerful firing line that going in with melee units is suicide.
This race certainly play a lot different than the previous factions, while the Assembly shares at least some similarities with them.

Pros:
+ Great melee options
+ Swarm Shield
+ Sturdy units
+ diverse damage channels

Cons:
- Horrible garrisons
- few ranged options
- weak base infantry
- Many units have rather poor weapon mod potential

My final verdict:
The Kir ko have an abundance of psionic damage which is really great against biological units or cyborgs. The powerful melee options allow you to easily deal with shield reliant factions, especially the amazons have quite a lot of trouble with a competent Kir ko player. Swarm shield really is a fantastic ability that you should use whenever possible, since it´s a free +2 shields that can´t be removed by special unit abilities - especially early on that buff can save you a LOT of units you would have otherwise lost.
Unfortunatly though, this faction has some serious drawbacks. Your base infantry, the Frenzied, SUCKS in comparison with the base infantry of all the other factions - this makes all of your city garrions quite weak (except for the fully leveled ones). Apart from that, none of your units really profit from the biochemical damage channel, as you lack a good single-hit unit that uses a chemical attack (excluding the hero combat mount). In general, the mod potential of the kir ko is somewhat poor in terms of weapon mods, racial mods on the other hand offer a great variety of different buffs - but are quite expensive most of the time.

35💗
32👢(flying)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
30⚡
130⌛
Role: Flying Infantry/Scout
Main attack: 3x10 kinetic damage (high impact, +33% damage to air units)
Secondary attack: 3x6 chemical damage (5➼, +33% damage to air units)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
"Far Sight";
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

This unit is both good for scouting and for fighting. Since it flies and has far sight you can quickly scout ahead of your main force, pick up treasure or occupy sectors so they can´t be annexed - to name just a few possible uses. The Unleashed is good in combat because they both have a high HP and a good armor rating for a scout unit - not to mention that their main attack deals just as much damage as that of the Frenzied (apart from the “Frenzy” buff). On top of the good defense values the Unleashed also profits from the evade boost all flying units get.
Overall a good and versatile scout that gives you access to a quick and reasonably powerful airforce right at the start of the game. If going in for a melee hit is too risky they also have a weak ranged attack called “Gunk Shot”. Since it´s actually a formidable scout with a dedicated role (aerial melee unit) it´s might be worth equipping them with mods. Both chemical and special Kir´ko melee mods are really useful for both the Unleashed and the Frenzied.

Pros:
+ Great fighting capabilities (for a scout)
+ Good scout capabilities
+ good armor
+ versatile

Cons:
- low range
- poor mod potential

My final verdict:
I always mass produce these guys and use them as my base infantry. They are versatile, have a great survivalbility for a scout and their damage output is good as well. Since they fly, cover
won´t be nearly as troublesome for you and if the enemy is too far away or if it´s too risky to go in for a melee attack you do have a reliable range attack to back you up - something the Frenzied lacks. The Unleashed also works perfectly fine as a scout, so there really is no reason to never use them in the first place.

45💗
40👢(land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry


Main attack: 3x10 kinetic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x10 chemical damage (3➼, 2-turn cooldown, 1-tile AoE, might inflict "choking")
Other abilities: “Swarm Shield” (+2 shield if another unit with swam shield is adjacent); “Frenzy” (+10% melee damage after direct hit with “Rending claws”);
Prime rank: "Ignore Overwatch"

The Kir´ko are the only faction in the game that have their main infantry be a dedicated melee unit. That has some obvious disadvantages, especially in colony sieges, but can work out in your favor if you play your cards right. For instance, since melee attacks bypass shields you will have a pretty good damage output against the Amazons and the Syndicate who both heavily rely on shields to keep damage away from their units.
The Frenzied does have a short-range AoE spit attack that can inflict enemy units with choking - a 25% damage and 25% accuracy penalty is quite severe, while the damage is at least a bit higher than the grenade of the Trooper. This “Battle Vomit” can be used every 3 turns and allows the Frenzied to defend itself against flying units as well. “Frenzy” is another of their abilities, which increases melee damage by 10% for 2 turns upon a full hit - that can stack up to three times. The Kir´ko “Swarm Shield” ability is essential for keeping your Frenzied alive - just make sure to take caution around enemies that can deal AoE damage. "Tunneling claws" is quite cosmite-intensive if you slap it onto every Frenzied, but is also very effective. A cheaper and earlier alternative (or addition) is the "Sundering Claws" mod that really shows it´s potential when every Frenzied has it. At prime rank the Frenzied ignores overwatch, which is very powerful both in combat against other melee units and when trying to reach ranged units.

Pros:
+ Good melee damage
+ Potent debuff
+ Good armor

Cons:
- Horrible unmodded performance
- limited mod potential
- situational
- despite the good armor a pretty low survivalbility

My final verdict:
Avoid building this unit whenever you can, just build Unleashed instead. Despite the good armor, the melee focused nature of the Frenzied still makes their survivalbility sub-par to say the least. The complete lack of a reliable ranged attack seriously hurts this units performance and makes them quite situational. Do I really need to tell you that this is perhaps the worst trait your MAIN infantry could have? Main infantry should be versatile and be useable in basically any situation to at least some effect - the Frenzied just doesn´t fulfill this criteria, even if you fully mod them.

45💗
32👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Sniper/Ranged Infantry

Main attack: 1x16 psionic damage (9➼, 3 AP, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x10 psionic damage (7➼, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Shrouded Step” (4➼, 3-turn cooldown, needs at least 1 AP to be used, always leaves 1 AP after use, teleport to target hex and cover a 1-hex area with obscuring smoke);
“Flanker” (+25% when flanking);
“Agile overwatch”;
Defense Mode: “Evasion” (50% harder to hit);
Prime rank: "Bypass cover"

Technically a sniper, I do consider them to rather be the ranged infantry for the Kir´ko. Their armor is weaker than that of the Frenzied, but they come with a decent long-range psionic attack that deals good damage against biological/cyborg units without shields. This attack does require all action points, similar to other snipers - so if you got staggered or moved into a better firing position you can still use the weaker secondary attack that deals roughly half the damage of the normal shot. Unlike the normal shot this snap shot doesn’t inflict stagger.
The Hidden also comes with an ability to obscure an area for 2 turns by teleporting up to 4 tiles away. Units, including the Hidden himself, are obscured in there (40% harder to hit) - enemies can exploit this, so take care! “Flanker” allows the Hidden to deal +25% damage on flanking attacks, they themselves are pretty hard to hit without AoE weapons when on defense thanks to the defense mode: “Evasion”. Finally, Hidden come with “Agile Overwatch”, which is really powerful for a sniper as you can both move into a good firing position and set up a powerful overwatch shot. Sadly the raw damage of the Hidden is mediocre at best, making it less useful later in a game - especially against units that have a strong shield.
A fun mod for them is "Mantra of Life", which allows their teleport ability to increase shield strenght of nearby allies. Thanks to Iguana-on-a-stick for suggested this combination originally, back when this mod used to heal 15 HP as well..

Pros:
+ Good range
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Teleport ability
+ Great overwatch

Cons:
- Poor mod potential
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
The gem of low tier Kir ko players. Hidden aren´t just hard to hit with their evasive defense mode and cloaking teleport ability, they also hit hard with their psionic sniper rifle and can set up overwatch with just 1 AP left. The best thing: You get all of this without slapping mods onto the Hidden, which allows for easy mass production. Considering how poor the Frenzied performs I often end up using the Hidden as my main infantry instead - expensive, but a noticeable improvement for sure.

45💗
32👢(floating)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Support


Main attack: 3x8 psionic damage (7➼ )
Other abilities:
“Absorb pain” (7➼, 1 AP, links itself with friendly non-machine and absorb any damage it takes with a 35% reduction, lasts 3 turns, 3-turn cooldown);
“Psionic mending” (3➼, 1 AP, heals non-machine for 25💗);
"Biological Recovery";
“Regeneration” (regains 8💗at the start of owners turn);
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

The Transcendent comes with a very unique support ability called “Absorb Pain”, which links itself to a target friendly non-machine. What does it do? Any damage that is dealt to the linked unit is taken by the Transcendent instead with a strong 35% reduction. If that sounds familiar, then you might be thinking of the Martyr of Age of Wonders 3 that has the same ability - the Transcendent can use this ability on a distance though, but it last only for 3 turns. Apart from “Absorb Pain” it also has “Psionic mending” that heals 25💗on a non-machine with a max range of 3 tiles.
When it comes to combat the Transcendent deals psionic damage - so almost always effective against your enemies. It doesn’t deal a lot of damage though and frankly I´d rather keep my Transcendent in the back, since their “Absorb pain” gets cancelled if it gets staggered. As a nice way to counter the damage it receives due to “Absorb pain”, the Transcendent comes with “Regeneration”, which restores 8💗at the start of the owners turn. As all early support units the Transcendent grants “Biological Recovery” to the army it serves in.

Pros:
+ Healing ability
+ Share Pain ability
+ Good damage
+ Good range

Cons:
- low survivalbility
- healing doesn´t fix status debuffs

My final verdict:
I like this support unit. It isn´t all that great in terms of support abilities, but the raw damage output allows you to use the Trancendent as a ranged infantry if the need arises. The healing itself isn´t bad and can heal almost any friendly unit, but since it doesnt fix debuffs it´s worse than that of the Biomancer or Overseer. The share pain ability is very useful in order to charge in with another unit without the risk of loosing it but make sure to have a good amount of healing available for your Trancendent if you plan to use this ability a lot.

30 💗
32 👢(land)
0 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Throwaway/Spectator


Main Attack: 1x11 chemical damage (7➼, 1 AP, chance to blind enemy)
Other abilities:
"Metamorphosis" (transforms into Hidden or Transcendent upon reachign prime rank);
"Rapid evolution" (gains +50% experience after combat);
"Tunnel" (7➼, 3 AP (continue));
"Swarm Shield"

This is a pretty crappy unit, I didn´t even include it into the original guide back when I first made it. Regardless, the Emergent IS a unit, so ...
The Emergent has got to be one of the worst units in the game, mainly because the whole concept around them is somewhat flawed. You see, the Emergent is supposed to be similar to the Draconian Hatchling of AoW 3: A very squishy, weak unit that can evolve into a much stronger unit when reaching prime rank. However, since you can´t really "cheese" extra experience points in combat it will take forever to get your Emergent to prime rank, despite the "Rapid evolution" buff it has for gaining experience.
Emergent have next to no HP, absolutly no armor or shields and their main attack is lackluster to say the least - it can blind enemies, but that´s honestly it. You will quickly realize what a NIGHTMARE it is to both keep your Emergent alive that you want to level up and to keep your actual important units alive at the same time - if you bother using Emergent in combat in the first place. Really the best strategy is to bring them with you into the fight, but have them basically watch the fight from afar - they will still gain experience, since it´s granted for participating in the battle (not for actual fighting like it was in AoW3).
Finally, there are two ways to get your hands on Emergent: 1. By summoning them on the strategic map (not recommended because its more expensive than to just build a much better Frenzied) or 2. by spawning them in with Ravenous late-game. Ravenous, upon devouring an enemy unit, gain the "Spawn Larva" ability, which deploys an Emergent on the battlefield that you get to keep after the battle.
Do NOT mod these little buggers until they´ve actually evolved into something more useful, at which point you can decide what to put on them. Like I said earlier, it´s really recommendable to have them spectate fights instead of giving them an actual role in fights. Of course you might be just desperate enought to use Emergent for actual fighting if you just don´t have anything better at your disposal - it IS a unit you can summon after all.

My final verdict:
Still bad, no amount of mods is going to change that if you really are crazy enough to throw out cosmite like that. As mentioned above, have them spectate fights most of the time and you MIGHT get something good out of them. It will take quite a long time even with the increased experience gain of the Emergent.

50💗
32👢(Land)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Distraction/Fire Support

Main attack: 1x18 chemical damage (5➼, removes 1 ▌ ▌)
Secondary attack: 1x14 chemical damage (3➼, chance to encase target, 1-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Tunnel” (7➼, 3 AP (continue), ignores overwatch attacks)

The Kir´ko combat summon, which I usually use as a distraction. Thanks to 50 HP and 3 Armor it can withstand a lot of damage (unless its psionic) and it does have a nasty main attack that deals a high amount of chemical damage. It also melts 1 ▌ ▌, though that has only a minor effect as it´s not a repeating attack.
The secondary attack called “Wax Cement” is very interesting, as you have the chance to encase an enemy for 2 turns - that every 2 turns. That essentially takes them out of the fight for short time. If the enemy is using a lot of "Overwatch" or is behind a lot of cover you can also use “Tunnel” to bypass overwatch and obstacles - since the Abyssian only needs 1 AP to use its main attack such surprise attacks usually work out well for you. If all else fails you can also just use the Abyssian as a distraction - thanks to his good defense stats it can take a couple hits before going down.

My final verdict:
A very sturdy summon that hits hard and is a perfect distraction for your enemy. The encase ability is nasty if your enemy has no way of removing the encased debuff, allowing you to essentially remove an enemy for 2 turns. Since all of the Abyssians attacks hit only once, it can easily move from cover to cover and still unleash a powerful shot. Using tunneling to get into a better firing position first is also quite viable, but be prepared to loose them quickly if you send them into an entire enemy formation.

40💗
32👢(flying)
3 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Airforce
Main Attack: 3x9 chemical damage (7➼ , +33% damage to air units)
Secondary attack: 1x8 chemical damage (5➼ , 2-turn cooldown, 1-tile AoE, lingers for 2 turns, deals damage and removes 1 ▌ ▌with each hit)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
Far Sight;
"Crash down";
Stagger Resistant;
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

Many consider the Engulfer to be the best Tier 2 air unit and I can understand why. The Engulfer has a strong armor with a rating of 3 and a powerful secondary attack that allows it to throw out a cloud of chemicals which deals damage and remove 1 ▌ ▌with EACH HIT. Since that cloud has a 1-tile radius and lingers for 2 turns you can effectively block off a passage - its also very effective to throw behind the enemy´s cover. This might force them out of cover or to take a detour - the dumbest thing you could do is to walk inside it, as each hex moved inside the cloud is 1 ▌ ▌gone, not to mention the damage you take!
Of course that’s not all there is to the Engulfer: He also has “Gunk Thrower”, which is its main attack. The damage isn’t outstanding but you can slap some mods onto them to make it more potent. Mods really are the only thing that can make the Vanguard Gunship or Amazon Harrier better than the Engulfer, although the Gunship does have “Evasive maneuvers” that the Engulfer doesn´t have. Still, unmodded the Engulfer is the best tier 2 air unit you can get your hands on.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Good damage
+ Fantastic secondary attack
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Versatile

Cons:
- mediocre mod potential

My final verdict:
Really the only bad thing about this thing is the mod potential and even that isn´t THAT bad all things considered. The damage is good, the armor is good, the secondary attack is very versatile and potent and the Engulfer is just overall a great performing "aircraft" both unmodded and modded. Do make sure to use them carefully (or use share pain of a Trancendent on them), since their high price makes them more difficult to mass produce.

60💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Chemical Artillery
Main attack: 3x10 chemical damage (2-7➼, 1-hex AoE, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x20 chemical damage (5➼, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Blinding Gas” (7➼, 1 AP, 1-turn cooldown, lingers for 3 turns, chance to blind enemies);
Stagger resistant;
"Large Target";
"Cumbersome";
Prime rank: +1➼

The Kir´ko actually have 2 separate artillery units, the Barrager being the earlier and cheaper one of the two. The "Biochemical Barrage" can be compared to the rockets of the Dvar Rocket Artillery, as it´s main attack works in a similar way: A high-impact, repeating attack with a 1-hex splash damage. This “Biochemical Barrage” is slightly stronger than the rockets of the Rocket Artillery, but at the same time it doesn´t have an ability to boost its range - which along with the mod advantage is where the Rocket Artillery is superior.
If an enemy gets close to the Barrager you can use “Biochemical Discharge” for a very powerful short-range attack. Finally, there is “Blinding Gas”, a third attack the Barrager can use that shoots out a cloud pretty similar to the Engulfer. It doesn´t deal damage or melt armor, but it has a chance to blind enemy units that are caught in the cloud and as it lingers for 3 turns you can really mess with an enemy that doesn´t have AoE weapons. Best used alongside good chemical weapon mods, else you are better off with low tier units or the tier 4 harbingers.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Powerful secondary attack
+ Good damage

Cons:
- Low accuarcy
- limited mod potential

My final verdict:
Good damage output and strong armor make this my go to tier 3 kir ko unit. The range of the Barrager is somewhat of a weakpoint, but it still serves the role of a living tank/assault gun really well. Since it uses a chemical attack the weapon mod potential is somewhat limited, although the armor melt mod does work really well with a repeating ranged AoE attack. Overall better than the Dvar Rocket Artillery in terms of raw damage but inferior in range and mod potential.

75💗
32👢(Land)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Brawler

Main attack: 3x15 kinetic damage (massive impact, chance to cause bleeding)
Secondary attack: 1x20 kinetic damage (2-turn cooldown, 1 AP, high impact, chance to eat light enemy unit, heals for 15💗 if successful and unlocks “Spawn Larva”)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Spawn Larva” (Spawns a Larva, only available upon a successful “Devour”);
Defense Mode: “Hyper Armor” (+2 ▌ ▌);
"Large Target";
"Juggernaut";
Prime rank: "Shrug off"

A Frenzied on steriods. Seriously though, you just need to make minor adjustments and you can use the same tactics you use with Frenzied and apply them to the Ravenous. It´s also the sturdiest unit the Kir´ko can field. This thing is a freaking monster! A repeating melee attack that does a BASE damage of 15 with massive impact and a chance to cause bleeding is no joke let me tell you that. Seriously once this thing is up in your face you have a serious problem. That´s especially true if you give these monsters the “Tunneling Claws” mod - ignore overwatch and obstacles? Nasty!
The Ravenous also has a secondary attack that triggers once, deals 20 damage and can instantly kill light units (unless it´s a machine). If it´s successful the Ravenous also heals for 15💗 and gains the ability to summon a Larva which the owner gets to keep after combat (Side note: Only non-reinforcement units that get devoured enable the “Spawn Larva” ability). Since it deals more damage for a single AP it´s also a good idea to use it when you could only attack once anyways.
When it´s not attacking it´s already strong armor gets increased by another 2 points thanks to defense mode: “Hyper Armor”. Now that were a lot of good things, what’s bad about it? Well it’s a "Large Target" melee unit for once and it´s utterly useless until you reach your enemy. While it can take a lot of damage, it´s probably going to take a tad bit too much of that if you charge in with a single Ravenous into a firing line of 2 Vanguard Walkers. Thats totally not how I lost my first Ravenous when I first played Kir´ko.
In terms of mods the "Adaptive Carpace" is also very useful, since the Ravenous WILL get hit regardless if you planned ahead or not. Receiving a temporary boost of up to 3 ▌ ▌can make all the difference in the world!

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Good HP
+ Fantastic melee damage
+ Useful summon ability (after devouring an enemy)
+ Good mod potential

Cons:
- large unit
- no ranged attack
- somewhat poor unmodded performance

My final verdict:
I hardly ever use this tier 3 unit unless I am fighting a faction with powerful shields like the Amazons or the Syndicate. This thing shreds anything in its path but getting it where it needs to be is really difficult if you don´t use the tunneling claws mod - an absolute must have for this unit. Unlike the Frenzied the Ravenous does have a viable place in your army, since it is a specialized tier 3 melee brawler and not a core unit.

60💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
2 ▌ ▌
2👅
125⚡
25 ₡
440⌛
Role: Psionic Artillery
Main attack: 1x16 psionic damage (7➼, 1 AP, chance to apply “Broken Mind”)
Secondary attack: 1x22 psionic damage (2-9➼, 3 AP, 1-tile AoE, chance to apply “Broken Mind”, 1-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Visions of Madness” (5➼, chance to inflict “Insanity”, which triggers target to attack the closest unit around it, applies “Broken Mind” on failure, 3-turn cooldown);
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Firm";
Stagger resistant

The second artillery unit of the Kir´ko, this time around it deals psionic damage. The main attack of the Tormented has a range of 7 tiles and has a high chance to apply “Broken Mind” on a direct hit. Then there is their secondary long-range attack that can be used every 2 turns and deals AoE damage. There is another chance to apply “Broken Mind” here.
The Tormented can also make use of a third attack: “Visions of Madness”. It has a rather short range but it can inflict “insanity” on the target - under the right circumstances, you can cause an enemy unit to attack it´s own allies! If it fails “Broken Mind” is applied instead. I would recommend to wait until a unit already got affected by "Broken Mind" if you really want "Visions of Madness" to work. Overall a powerful unit damage-wise but it can´t take a lot damage itself, since it has a base armor and shields of 2.
After some more playtesting I find myself actually preferring the Barrager now, since it is a lot sturdier and deals damage more reliable. You got better low tier alternatives or can use the tier 4 harbinger instead.

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ Long-range unit
+ Useful debuff
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- limited mod potential
- large unit

My final verdict:
The "proper" artillery of the Kir ko. Since it´s psionic damage it will tear through units without psionic resistance or strong shields. In terms of versatility clearly worse than the Barrager that doesnt have to fear a head-on fight with other units, but if you need a powerful long-range option in your armies definitly worth considering to use in small numbers. Since my Kir ko military consist of a lot of Hidden I usually don´t have a place for Tormented in my armies.

70💗
32👢(flying, slower in combat)
2 ▌ ▌
4👅
170⚡
40 ₡
700⌛
Role: Support

Main attack: 3x13 psionic damage (2-7➼, +33% damage to air units, chance to apply “Broken Mind”)
Secondary attack: 1x16 psionic damage (1➼, 3 AP, Cone AoE, 2-turn cooldown, chance to apply “Insanity”)
Other Abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
Defense Mode: “Shields Up”;
“Vengeful Presence” (3 AP, all friendly units deal +20% damage, 4-turn cooldown, lasts for 2 turns);
“Guiding Presence” (3 AP, asts for 2 turns, full action, all friendly units gain +1➼, +2 optimal range and +20% accuracy);
"Far Sight";
Prime rank: "Overwatch"

Being one of it not THE best tier 4 in the game, the Harbinger has several army buffs it can give it´s comrades. First off, there is “Guiding Presence”, which is incredible strong on its own. That’s +1 maximum range, +2 optimal range and +20% accuracy for ALL friendly units on the battlefield. Then there is “Vengeful Presence” that buffs the damage output of all units by 20%. In the meantime, the “Shields Up” defense mode helps to keep this unit alive.
Offensively this unit is no pushover either: A powerful repeating psionic attack is no joke, especially since it can apply “broken mind” and shoots aircraft out of the sky with ease (this works the other way around as well as the Harbinger is a flying unit). The Secondary attack called “Wave of Madness” is a close-range AoE cone attack that apart from dealing a lot of damage can also inflict “insanity” on enemy units. Due to how quick an exposed Harbinger can die you really should use this ability defensively - don’t rush into an enemy formation with that.
While you really don´t need to put mods on these things to make them outstanding, "Mantra of Life" is a fantastic mod for the Harbinger as you can give all friendly units on the battlefield +2👅 with "Vengeful Presence" and "Guiding Presence". "Mantra of Clarity" is also fantastic, as this allows your Harbinger to give all your units a 15% evade boost with the presence abilities.

Pros:
+ Fantastic army buffs
+ Good damage
+ Great mod potential
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Useful secondary attack

Cons:
- large unit
- easy to hit

My final verdict:
Perhaps THE best tier 4 unit in the game as far as support abilities are concerned. Having map-wide potent army buffs is insane and since it is a psionic buff the psionic weapon mods have a fantastic synergy with the Harbinger. Combat capabilities arent as outstanding as some other tier 4 units but the main attack is by no means weak - its just going to struggle against machines, especially if they are shielded.

50💗
40👢(Water)
3 ▌ ▌
2👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x14 kinetic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x18 chemical damage (5➼, 1 AP, chance to inflict "poisoned")
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Cementing Spray” 1x10 chemical damage (1➼, 1 AP, chance to encase target, 2-turn cooldown);
submerge” (immune to burning and immolation);
Prime rank: "Ignore Overwatch"

The basic naval unit of the Kir´ko. It has a similar melee focus like many of your land units, but it does have “Toxic Spit” as a mid-range ranged attack as backup. Their main damage is dealt with their melee attack though, the “Crushing Mandibles”. That´s sure to bring down almost any ship that doesn´t have a heavy armor.
If you want to take an enemy unit out of the fight for short amount of time you can also use “Cementing Spray” if you are in their face. A neat little extra of this unit is that is “submerged”, so it can´t be set on fire - lasers will still do damage, but at least Promethean players can´t cheese more damage and accuracy out of your poor crabs … scorpions? Upon reaching prime rank the Torrent ignores overwatch attacks, very handy since there is very little cover in naval combat.

Pros:
+ Sturdy
+ Powerful melee attack
+ backup ranged attack

Cons:
- low range
- situational
- limited mod potential
- can only be used on water

My final verdict:
My least favorite main naval vessel of all factions. Melee combat just isn´t viable most of the time in naval battles, especially since all warships deal SO much damage on range. The backup ranged attacks of the Torrent just can´t compete with the main attack of previously covered naval vessels. I would only use them unmodded, there clearly are better units to invest your cosmite into.

65💗
32👢(Water)
2 ▌ ▌
4👅
70⚡
10 ₡
250⌛
Role: Navy
Main attack: 3x14 psionic damage (9➼)
Secondary attack: 1x24 psionic damage (9➼, 3 AP, spreads to nearby units at the end of owners turn, chance to inflict “catatonic” else it inflicts “Broken Mind”, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Swarm Shield”;
“Submerge”;
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Evasive"

Maybe the strongest ship in the game, just because of how strong psionic damage is at the moment. Seriously though, a repeating ranged attack that has a range of 9 tiles and a whopping BASE damage of 14 each hit is just insane - and I haven´t even talked about mods yet! After Invasions this unit finally isn´t broken anymore, since the "focus flames/venom" mod now only ignore 2 ▌ ▌instead of total armor bypass.
If that wasn’t enough already, they also have a powerful long-range 1-tile AoE psionic attack, that can inflict “Catatonic” on your units - fun… . Even if it fails it still applies “Broken Mind”. And if it succeeded the damage and catatonic effect can even spread to other nearby units! Finally, the Deep One has “Submerge” in case you ever get close enough to even damage it…
At Prime rank the Deep one gains "evasive", which counters the "large target" debuff it has.

Pros:
+ Good damage
+ Great range
+ Good shields
+ Fantastic secondary attack

Cons:
- large target
- can only be used on water

My final verdict:
The saving grace of Kir ko navies. This beast deals a lot of damage on a very long range and is also fairly accurate - it doesn´t sacrifice in mobility or defense stats either. It can struggle against mechanical navy vessels, so consider modding a couple of your Deep Ones with Focus Fire or Focus Venom. Perhaps the only high tier naval unit I´d consider building entire fleets of just down to how weak the Torrent is. Like with most factions, consider putting some air units into your fleets too.

The Assembly are the final race of the base game and can be considered an alien race seeing how little humanity is still left in them. Every single unit of the Assembly is a cyborg: A mix between a machine and a biological being. This comes with a lot of advantages, primarily that cyborgs can be affected by many abilities that are usually reserved for respectively biological or machine units. However this also comes with a glaring disadvantage: Certain abilities that wouldn´t affect a purely biological or machine unit can actually harm cyborgs as well!
As you can see, it´s a give-and-take being a cyborg, though I honestly still think it´s an advantage rather than a disadvantage gameplay-wise due to the many unique ways you can use mods, tactical operations and abilities.

Let´s talk about damage channels: The Assembly comes with both the arc and the kinetic weapons tree. When it comes to importance, it´s quite evenly split between the two weapon classes. There is the Scavenger, Vorpal Sniper and Disassembler that use kinetic weapons, then there are the Electrocutioner, the Lightning Rider and the Reaver (normal form) who make use of arc weapons.
When it comes to defense the Assembly prefers armor protection over shield strenght. That makes them very vulnerable to psionic attacks - watch out for the Kir´ko! The Syndicate might have psionic damage as well, but as long as you don´t face a lot of Wraiths or Subjugators you´ll have an easy time against the Syndicate due to the natural resistance against arc damage you and your troops have for being cyborgs.
The Assembly also have the special ability to regain lost HP after a battle, which is called "Scavenge Spare Parts". You also have a good amount of healing available to you, since both your scout and your support unit can heal damaged cyborgs. It doesn´t end there though: You can also revive fallen units with your support unit, the "Reverse Engineer", and unlock a very powerful mod late-game that grants resurgance to your units - at that point you can take crazy risks and get away without any sort of punishment! The Assembly can feel a bit akward and weak early-game, but are incredible strong late-game.

Pros:
+ Cyborgs
+ Several Revive abilities
+ Good balance between shield and armor
+ Great base units
+ good mod potential for most units

Cons:
- Cyborgs
- lack of shield/armor specilization
- mediocre garrisons
- somewhat weak early game

My final verdict:
The assembly is in somewhat of an odd spot: If you know how to play and arent screwed over by a weak start you can snowball into a terrifying juggernaut late-game. Meanwhile if you don´t have experience with Assembly units or are new to the game your gimmicky units can be quite hard to control - especially considering the lack of a dedicated support unit early on.
The greatest thing about the Assembly are the plethora of revive abilities. The "self reassembly" mod allows you to throw your units away without a care in the world so long as you win the battle and the Reverse Engineer gives you the option to revive units even mid-battle. Most of your units have a fairly good mod potential which allows for some very versatile army builds, although due to the low range of the Scavengers shotgun you might struggle with the strenght of your garrisons sometimes. The natural arc resistance of your units allows you to easily counter Syndicate, Oathbound and other Assembly players.

30💗
32👢(flying)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
30⚡
150⌛
Role: Scout/Support

Main attack: 3x7 arc damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Maintenance Repair” (3➼, 1 AP, once a battle, heals machine or cyborg for 20💗);
"Far sight"
“All Around Awareness”;
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Prime rank: "Overwatch"

The Inspector is a fantastic scout unit because of his very handy healing ability called “Maintenance Repair”. Seriously having healing on such a cheap early game unit can be a game changer, not to mention that it stays good throughout the entire game. If you picked the colony starting upgrade that grants a stronger starting army you don´t get a Reverse Engineer, so it kinda balances itself out in comparison with other factions in that regard.
The Inspector isn´t too amazing when it comes to dealing damage, but at least his attack has a pretty good range for a scout, so he doesn´t need to expose himself to too much damage. If he does get hit, he should survive at least one direct hit, while you don´t have to worry about his flanks as he cannot be flanked due to “All around awareness”. Finally, there is the Assembly signature ability of “scavenge spare parts”. Don´t tend to mod them or most other scouts. This unit´s healing can be really utilized by mass producing them. Will basically be your support unit at the start of the game since the Assembly is the only faction that has to research their proper support unit first.

Pros:
+ Good range
+ Healing
+ Good scouting capabilities
+ cannot be flanked

Cons:
- low survivalbility
- weak damage
- mediocre mod potential

My final verdict:
Definitly use these on a large scale. They offer you the only reliable healing you have early game and since they are so cheap you can easily mass produce them. The range of the Inspector is also quite good, allowing you to use him on a safe distance. Pretty much the only true disadvantage of the Inspector is his damage output against non-machines, but thats no serious issue since he is primarily your scout/early game healer.

40💗
40👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry

Main Attack: 3x10 kinetic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (5➼, 1 AP, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Assimilate” (regain 3💗with each successful melee hit);
“Scavenge Spare Parts” (heals for 6💗after each battle);
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

The Scavenger is best compared to the Kir´ko Frenzied, since both units have a focus on melee combat. What the Frenzied has in raw melee strength and survivability when used in groups (thanks to swarm shield) the Scavenger has in versatility and overall usefulness. The melee damage has the handy “Assimilate” buff, which restores 3💗to the Scavenger upon each successful hit (unless it’s a mineral or ethereal unit). That helps a lot with survivability.
The Shotgun gives the Scavenger a pretty reliable ranged attack when it comes to damage and accuracy - and unlike the spit attack of the Frenzied it can be used every turn. Perfect to hit an enemy that’s just outside of your reach: Since the shotgun inflicts stagger, they won´t be able to run far … or hit back as hard as they otherwise could. Really having a repeatable useable inflict stagger weapon on your main infantry can go a long way! “Scavenge Spare Parts” heals the Scavenger by 6 💗 after each battle, which in combination with “Assimilate” really helps keeping them alive. The armor rating of 2 helps in that regard as well. Giving them the late-game kinetic weapons mod that allows their Shotgun to inflict concussion is a fantastic feeling, if you look for earlier mods I´d stick with something that increases survival chance or that buffs the melee attack.

Pros:
+ Good survivalbility
+ Good armor
+ Life steal on melee attack
+ Potent ranged attack
+ Versatile

Cons:
- Mediocre mod potential

My final verdict:
Works somewhat similar to the Kir ko Frenzied BUT it has a very reliable close range attack if going in for melee is too risky. The melee attack restores HP with each hit which nicely offsets the damage melee units receive while approaching their target. The scavenger is very sturdy for a base infantry due to the life steal and the good armor. It can be somewhat difficult to mod the scavenger with the classic firearm mods due to his great melee attack, then again improving only the melee attack is gonna hurt the performance of the shotgun.

45💗
32👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Ranged Infantry

Main attack: 3x11 arc damage (7➼, chance to electrify enemy)
Secondary attack: 1x12 arc damage (7➼, 1 AP, 2-turn cooldown, 1-tile AoE, high impact, chance to electrify enemy)
Other abilities:
“Overwatch”;
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

I really don´t like Electrocutioners that much, mainly because of how squishy they are. For a unit that costs twice as much as a Scavenger, he has less armor protection with the same amount of💗. He does get the job done against enemy machines, although I´d prefer the Syndicate Indentured any day when it comes to dealing mid-range arc damage. Still, at least the Electrocutioner allows you to make use of this damage channel pretty early in the game.
The Electrocutioner does have a useful secondary attack called “Project Arc Blast”, which he can use with 1 AP on a range of 7 hexes. Considering that most low-tier AoE attacks have a small range, that is a pretty big advantage you should capitalize on in the early game. Ever since the AP cost has been lowered to 1 AP (used to be 3 AP) this attack really is the biggest advantage the Electrocutioner has in comparison with the Indentured. That attack causes high impact as well and can inflict “Electrified” to an enemy - his main attack can too, but the chance is much higher with his “Project Arc Blast”. Building electrocutioners is basically pointless once you got access to Advanced Constructs.

Pros:
+ Great damage
+ Potent secondary attack
+ Good mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- weak armor
- low survivalbility
- redundant

My final verdict:
Quite potent early game and their damage stays good, but because of Advanced Constructs being both dispoable and for free means that the Electrocutioner is not gonna look all that attractive late game. They do get the job done really well against machines but they are extremly vulnerable to damage themselves - that is just ONE armor! That makes the Electrocutioner to the least survivalble tier 2 faction unit.

45💗
32👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Sniper


Main attack: 1x16 kinetic damage (9➼, 3 AP, massive impact, +15% chance to crit)
Secondary attack: 1x8 kinetic damage (7➼, 1 AP, chance to blind target)
Other abilities:
“Concussive shot” 1x8 kinetic damage (9➼, 3 AP, 2-turn cooldown, chance to concuss target, chance to disable target for 2 turns, applies massive impact on failure);
“Improved Overwatch” (+20% accuracy);
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Prime rank: "Bypass cover"

These guys are pretty weak in terms of damage output if you don’t mod them, however they are able to inflict some nasty debuffs on your enemies. For starters, their main attack delivers massive impact - devastating against other snipers, that´s really what I like most about Vorpal Snipers. It also has an absurd high crit chance. If the Vorpal Sniper got staggered himself you can still use “Blinding Snap Shot” to deal a bit of damage with a chance to blind the target.
He actually even has a third attack, the “Concussive Shot” that requires 3 AP and deals only half the damage of the normal shot. In return, it can inflict “Concussion” - if it fails you at least still get the massive impact you would deliver with the main attack. Vorpal Snipers are also very accurate during overwatch attacks thanks to “Improved Overwatch” that grants +20% accuracy.
Overall a decent sniper if you got other sources that deal more damage - not that amazing on it´s own and when it comes to damage and late-game viability he gets outclassed by the other snipers. For mods, you have to get "Rail Accelerators" - that is SO useful on a sniper. Apart from that "fireburst ammunition" also makes him much stronger. Still, without any mods Vorpal Snipers are my least favorite sniper unit in Planetfall.

Pros:
+ Good range
+ massive impact on primary attack
+ useful debuffs
+ high crit rate

Cons:
- weak damage compared to other snipers
- low survivalbility
- weak unmodded performance

My final verdict:
The best thing about the Vorpal Sniper is the massive impact of the main attack. The damage output isn´t all that great unmodded, thankfully the firearm weapon mods do allow you to easily mod this unit - umodded it does suffer though. The high crit rate is great when modded but unmodded the crit doesn´t really do that much due to the weak base damage. Overall a good early game sniper, late-game he needs mods to stand up to other snipers.

50💗
32👢(Land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
270⌛
Role: Support


Main attack: 3x11 kinetic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x16 arc damage (5➼, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
“Create Construct” (1➼, 1 AP);
“Reassemble” (1➼, 1 AP, heals a machine or cyborg for 35💗, can also revive dead light machine/cyborg with 50% HP, goes into defense mode after use);
Defense Mode: “Shields up” (+2👅);
“Procurer” (heals machines and cyborgs for 12💗after battle);
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Prime rank: +300 morale

The Reverse Engineer is a very powerful support unit, especially since it can literally revive light cyborg/machine units with his “Reassemble” ability - however it´s also the only primary support unit you have to research before you can use them. "Reassemble" can also be used to heal a living cyborg or machine for a whopping 35💗- you can literally bring back a unit to full💗after it was at the brink of death! The Reverse Engineer is also able to spawn a throwaway Construct into battle. The simple early game Construct is pretty weak - the Advanced Construct you can unlock later on is powerful.
When it comes to direct combat the Reverse Engineer is no joke either: A repeating melee attack that deals just as much damage as the Scavenger and an arc shotgun (which unfortunately
doesn´t cause stagger). You really should take these guys out from a distance, which is made more difficult due to their “Shields Up” defense mode. The “Procurer” ability of the Reverse Engineer makes for yet another great synergy with his fellow cyborgs and machines, since it restores a whopping 12 💗 to all units to the stack each strategic turn.
Really the only pretty bad thing about the Reverse Engineer is his higher production cost in comparison with other support units and the fact that you have to unlock him before useage. Regarding mods it´s your holy duty to give him the "Advanced Re-Engineering" mod: Not only are you able to create the MUCH more powerful Advanced Construct, but the "Reassemble" ability can now revive heavy cyborg/machine units! Needless to say, the Assembly can make good use of heavy vehicles from other factions - and you can revive tier 4 units with that! Units are also brought back to life with 70%💗 or healed for an insane 55💗. For the other two slots I recommend to either leave them open for cheaper production or to use arc weapon mods (only after you gave him the ability to create Advanced Constructs), so the Advanced Construct gets even more powerful.

Pros:
+ Revive ability
+ Powerful healing
+ summon ability
+ Good mod potential
+ Potent melee attack

Cons:
- has to be researched first
- expensive
- weak ranged attack

My final verdict:
Cruicial for the Assembly due to his revive ability, this unit allows you to take crazy risks with your units. As long as you don´t end the fight you can roam around the map with your Reverse Engineers and revive your units. Because the revive ability doubles as a healing ability you need to make a choice wether or not you want to preserve a unit or just revive it after it dies. The summon ability is extremly useful once you got the "advanced re-engineering" mod, with this mod this unit is also great for the Dvar and Vanguard since the revive ability works on machines.

20💗
32👢(Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Throwaway unit/Distraction
Main attack: 3x11 kinetic damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x20 kinetic damage (1 AP, explosive, kills the unit, high impact)


The simple Construct that is spawned by unmodded Reverse Engineers. There isn´t too much to talk about these things. They absolutely can´t take any damage since they have a meager 20💗 and only 1 ▌ ▌- but hey you get them for free. It doesn´t have any ranged attack, so you really have to get in the enemy´s face to deal any damage with them - which is almost impossible to achieve due to the low HP and armor of this thing!
Honestly I find myself often just using the self-destruct of the Construct to either deal some nasty damage if I somehow did manage to reach my enemy or, which is usually the case, to blow up their cover so my actual army has an easier time hitting them. Can also just be used to draw some fire or to guard your paid units. The Construct will gain the same mods as the Reverse Engineer does, unless they grant an active ability. With the help of mods, even the simple Construct can inflict some serious damage - again, that´s if you managed to get it where it needs to first.

My final verdict:
Useful as a distraction and if used as a bodyguard against other melee units. It doesn´t have a whole lot of versatility due to the Construct being stuck to melee combat. But as this unit is for free you don´t need to shed tears if it dies - and it will die a lot thats for sure considering the lack of HP and armor.

30💗
32👢 (Land)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Ranged Infantry/Throwaway unit
Main attack: 3x11 arc damage (7➼, small chance to electrify enemy)
Secondary attack: 1x20 arc damage (arc explosive, kills the unit, high chance to electrify enemy)

The Construct, just that it´s actually very good. Seriously though, Advanced Constructs are really strong for being a free unit you can summon. And they are actually almost as powerful as the lackluster Electrocutioners - one more reason not to bother with those after you got the tech to create the Advanced Construct. Heck, the main attack even has the same name!
You can really use these things like your regular units, put them behind cover and if you see a good opportunity you can still have them suicide to wreck cover and/or enemy units. Seeing just how much better the Advanced Construct is over the simple one I´d say that the mod that upgrades the “Create Construct” of the Reverse Engineer is almost a must-have once you researched the tech.

My final verdict:
They deal the same damage as your Electocutioner while being a free combat summon that doesn´t occupy an army slot. They can be used like a regular ranged unit or as a disposable throwaway - even their self distraction is more powerful compared to the regular construct.

45💗
32👢(flying)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Strike Unit

Main attack: 3x9 arc damage (5➼, +33% damage against aircraft)
Secondary attack: 1x14 arc damage (1 AP, 2-hex AoE around the unit, enters defense mode afterwards, 2-turn cooldown, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Arc charge” (1-turn cooldown, attacks gain +50% damage and a level of stagger impact);
“Crash Down”;
“Evasive Maneuvers”;
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: +10% crit chance

Not as terrible as I used to think, because of the severe damage buff it can give itself. The main attack is still pretty bad as it has a low range of 5 tiles - but since it´s arc damage it will rip Gunships, Mirages and Ramjets out of the sky. What´s really interesting is it´s secondary attack that can deal a tremendous amount of damage especially after you charged it up. Make sure that your own units aren´t caught in that 2-tile AoE! Thankfully the Lightning Rider goes into defense afterwards, so he isn´t immediately doomed after he used that ability.
The secret with using these things really is to never stop moving with it, as it shares the “Evasive Maneuvers” ability with the Vanguard Gunship - and believe me the Lighting Rider needs that evade boost due to way it has to expose itself in order to deal damage. The Lightning Rider is the most vulnerable during his “Arc charge”, where it has to spent a turn out of defense mode in order to buff it´s attack strength - really without the buff his attacks don´t deal enough damage to justify the pathetic range. Ideally you want to use that moment to shoot it down if you are on the receiving end of a Storm Rider. Regarding mods, the "Stun Module" is insane with the Lightning Riders AoE attack.

Pros:
+ Good AoE attack
+ Great Synergy with "stun module" and "arc impact module"
+ evasive maneuvers

Cons:
- Weak unmodded performance
- low range
- has to spent a turn charging up to deal significant damage

My final verdict:
This aircraft is in a tough spot: With mods, especially with the stun module, it´s performance can be mind blowing. On the other hand, that low range, lackluster regular damage output and horrible unmodded performance really turn me off when it comes to choosing what units to put in my armies. It´s not an aircraft you should make pure aircraft stacks out of, but fully modded it might be worth throwing one into your armies but ONLY if you have mid-range/long-range covered by other units.

45💗
40👢(floating)
2 ▌ ▌
3👅
Role: Distraction/Support
Main attack: 3x12 arc damage (high impact, can target flying units)
Secondary attack: “Project Constriction Field” No damage (1➼, 1 AP, 3-turn cooldown,disables abilities and holds an enemy in place, applies to Constrictor as well, both units gain a level of stagger resistance and +5👅)

This is a very interesting combat summon. The “Project Constriction Field” can completely shut down any enemy unit with its devastating secondary attack. However, during this period it´s completely vulnerable against enemy attacks - so it IS pretty situational. Alternatively, it can also be used as a melee support unit, as its primary attack doesn´t only deal quite a lot of arc damage (perfect against machines) but can even target flying units! Not very useful in long-range fights apart from distracting/disabling key enemy units. The +5👅 the constricted enemy unit gains can backfire if you don´t have melee units nearby to kill it off before the Constrictor gets taken out. The Constrictor can still damage the unit it´s attached to, larger elite units will usually break out of the grip pretty fast.

My final verdict:
Fantastic if used against small, low tier units. They have a hard time breaking out of the grip, while the Constrictor and your other melee units rip them to shreds. Not a very versatile combat summon but works great in its niche.

65💗
32👢(Land)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Brawler

Main attack: 3x15 kinetic damage (massive impact)
Secondary attack:1x20 kinetic damage (1 AP, massive impact, hits all 3 hexes in front of the unit)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode: “Hyper Armor”;
“Self-reassembly” (revives in a weakend state if killed, only triggers once);
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Stagger resistant;
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Ignore overwatch"

The Wrecker deals a tremendous amount of damage in melee combat and inflicts massive impact. That will teach your enemy not to underestimate melee units - if you can get the Wrecker to the enemy in first place that is. Large target + melee unit just is a rather bad combination. This gets much less of a problem at prime rank, where the Wrecker gains "Ignore Overwatch". “Hyper Armor” defense mode buffs the standard armor rating of 5 by another 2, while the Wrecker also has a pretty high amount of 💗.
One unique thing about him is his ability to revive himself in combat, if he gets taken out. While his reassembled version is less powerful, it´s still a force to be reckoned with. Finally, if the enemy made the mistake to bunch up his units you can use “Wild Swing” which deals damage to the 3 tiles in front of the Wrecker - and it can be used every turn! So, not a terrible unit, but not your cup of tea if you prefer to keep your enemies at a distance. Pretty much the only faction unit that can go toe-to-toe with a Kir´ko Ravenous. For mods, consider some that boost survivalbility and damage resistance, since your Wrecker WILL take damage all the damn time.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ High HP
+ revives once if killed
+ Good melee damage

Cons:
- no ranged attack
- limited mod potential
- large unit

My final verdict:
Best suited for a sort of "battering ram" tactic: Overwhelm your enemy by crusing right through their cover and park this behemouth in their face. The damage output is great and with the built-in revive ability you can use them very agressivly. The large target + melee only nature of this unit means that modding it with defensive mods is propably your best bet. Don´t forget to abuse the living daylight out of prime rank "ignore overwatch", thats fantastic on this type of unit.

60💗
32👢(Land, slower in combat)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Artillery
Main attack: 3x13 kinetic damage (7➼, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x15 kinetic damage (2-9➼, 3 AP, 1-turn cooldown, explosive, leaves behind cloud that deals 15 kinetic damage to enemies moving through it or ending their turn in)
Other abilities:
Stagger resistant;
“Scavenge spare parts”;
"Cumbersome";
"Large Target";
Prime rank: "Firm"

The Artillery unit of the Assembly, which has a really nasty secondary attack that not only has a long range, but also leaves behind a cloud that deals a ton of damage to enemies moving through it or that end their turn in it. The main attack is no joke either, especially since you can slap some incredible nasty weapon mods on the Disassembler to make it even stronger - as usual, fireburst ammunition really goes a long mile.
Other than that there isn´t too much else to talk to really. The Disassembler has a decent amount HP and armor protection - but no shields, making it very vulnerable to psionic damage. As a personal note: Since I hardly use any Wreckers outside of city garrisons I tend to focus on these guys when it comes to late-game units, since the Disassembler is slightly cheaper than some other late-game high tier units. You can buff it´s secondary attack with the "Toxin Nanites Ammunition" mod that changes it to a chemical attack and can inflict "Debiliating Infection", which makes a unit 20% easier to hit and also reduces the morale by 400.

Pros:
+ Great firepower
+ fantastic secondary attack
+ Good mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance
+ cheaper than most other tier 3 units

Cons:
- has to reload secondary attack
- mediocre accuarcy

My final verdict:
The elite unit I would mass produce whenever possible as the Assembly. It has a great firepower, can be modded with ease and their secondary attack is nasty. The Dissassembler is versatile enough to be used both as a Frontline tank and as a backline artillery. Overall there isn´t too much else to talk about it, it just performs really good across the board and excells with a fantastic albeit inaccurate artillery attack.

75💗
32👢(floating, slower in combat)
6 ▌ ▌
0👅
170⚡
40 ₡
700⌛
Role: Brawler/Support

Main attack: 3x13 arc damage (7➼, ignores cover, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Re-energize” (5➼, 3 AP, restores all AP and dispels negative status effect on target unit and up to 2 additional friendly units in a 3-tile radius, 3-turn cooldown);
“Swarm Form” (FREE action, heals 20💗 and transforms into Swarm)
Defense Mode: “Hyper Armor”;
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Stagger immune;
Prime rank: +300 morale

This is one heck of a strong tier 4 unit. They have a lot of 💗 and a good armor protection (gets buffed by “Hyper Armor” defense mode), so they can take a good amount of punishment before going down. Their “Arc Storm” attack not only deals a lot of damage but also inflicts high impact and ignores cover entirely - needless to say, Reavers freaking annihilate machines.
The Reaver also has a powerful support ability called “Re-energize”. This ability is borderline broken, as it restores all AP not just to a single unit, but up to 3 units if they are somewhat close to each other - and it has a range of 5 hexes! Seriously this is in need of a nerf. If all that wasn´t enough for you yet, the Reaver can also transforms into his Swarm Form for NO AP if the situation calls for it, which heals 20💗in the process (can be used at the end of battle to heal 💗 or to cover large distances much quicker). I´ll cover his Swarm Form separately.

Pros:
+ Great armor
+ Great damage
+ Fantastic support ability
+ can transform into a different form if need arises

Cons:
- Can´t switch damage channels in this mode

My final verdict:
The best tier 4 in terms of raw firepower, it TRASHES machines and anything that isn´t resistant to arc damage. The different form of the Reaver won´t always be viable, but since you can switch between the modes with ease that isn´t really a big hinderance. Meanwhile the high damage output, great support ability and good armor turn this unit into a great close-range/mid-range brawler. If you need a melee unit, that´s where the 2nd swarm form comes into play.

75💗
40👢(floating)
4 ▌ ▌
2👅
Role: Brawler (melee)
Main attack: 3x15 kinetic damage (melee, high impact, heals 8💗with each hit, if this kills the target, then the Reaver gains a buff depending on unit type killed)

Secondary attack: 1x20 kinetic damage (chance to kill target instantly, spawning a friendly construct in its place, 3-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Reaver Form” (FREE action, transforms back into Reaver, no💗regen);
“Small Target” (10% harder to hit);
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
“All Around Awareness”;
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: +300 morale

Broken. That’s the short description of this overpowered mess of a unit the Reaver is in his “Swarm Form”, and that’s saying something considering his broken support ability in his normal form. Why do I think this way? Well that’s a repeating melee attack that not only deals a BASE damage of 15 kinetic, but also heals the Reaver for a whopping 8💗for each hit and even grants a buff to the Reaver until the end of combat if he kills something with this!
And I haven´t even talked about mods or his “Aggressive Recombination” ability, that has a chance to instantly kill ANY unit and even spawn a friendly Construct in it´s place. Even if it fails, that´s still a base damage of 20 kinetic! Then, once you are done wreaking havoc, you can just transform back to the Reaver Form if you want to go back to ranged combat, it´s a FREE action. And as if all of this wasn´t enough yet, the Reaver - no joke - is considered a “Small Target” in his “Swarm Form” and even gains “All Around Awareness” in it.

In all seriousness now, this unit needs a hard nerf - even more than the Kir´ko Deep One. Right now, it is the most powerful tier 4 in the game when it comes to actual fighting. Especially the instant kill in “Swarm Form” and the “Re-energize” in normal form have to be balanced.

Pros:
+ Great melee damage
+ life drain on melee attack
+ gains additional buffs when killing an enemy
+ hard to hit
+ can´t be flanked

Cons:
- stuck to melee combat in this mode
- not stagger immune

My final verdict:
Despite my complaints, it still hasn`t been nerfed yet. Borderline broken damage output combined with fantastic survivalbility make the Reaver an absoulte nightmare to deal with if your faction is weak to melee unit - or generally doesn´t have too much armor to begin with. The instant kill ability is a bit RNG reliant, but really annoying to fight against. The Dvar Earth Crusher (which has a similar ability) is at least slow enough to avoid loosing units like that - the Reaver on the other hand is quite fast and even spawns in a friendly unit if the instant kill ability succeeds.

50💗
32👢(Water)
4 ▌ ▌
0👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Navy


Main attack: 3x12 arc damage (7➼, no accuarcy penalty vs flying units)
Secondary attack: 1x16 arc damage (7➼, 3 AP, 1-turn cooldown, 1-tile AoE, high impact, chance to inflict electrified)
Other abilities:
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Storm Wader: +10% crit chance

The Storm Wader is a pretty powerful ship, especially if you are up against other ships or air units. Like the ships of the Vanguard, the “Naval arc cannon” ignores accuracy penalties against flying units - this heavily penalties enemies that based their naval strategy around aircraft stacks. The secondary attack called “Storm call” is a strong AoE attack which can be used to hit several enemies or enemies behind cover, since it travels in an arc.
Does this sound familiar? It should if you already looked at the section for the Syndicate Guild Cruiser, who is almost identical to the Assembly Storm Wader apart from the damage resistances between cyborgs and machines. Overall a very useful ship that can easily defeat enemies that have a machine-heavy navy and airforce. "Arc Extention Module" and "Arc Stun Module" are great mods for this thing.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Great against aircraft
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Solid mod potential

Cons:
- can only be used on water
- can´t change damage channels

My final verdict:
On par with the Vanguard Frigate, if not even better. It wipes the floor with mechanical units no matter if they swim, fly or are embarked. The secondary attack allows you to use them behind large cover and still do damage or to deal a lot of damage to several enemies at once. Overall a great ship both modded and unmodded, making it a great asset in continents maps. Since its so cost effective also viable on pangea maps.

70💗
32👢(water)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
10 ₡
250⌛
Role: Navy

Main attack: 3x14 kinetic damage (9➼, ignores penalties against flying units)
Secondary attack: 1x28 kinetic damage (5➼, 3 AP, 2-turn cooldown, chance to disable target)
Other abilities:
“Launch Water Construct” (1 AP, 3-turn cooldown, launches a naval mine that functions similar to the land based simple construct);
“Scavenge Spare Parts”;
Prime rank: +1➼

This thing is a force to be reckoned with! It´s pretty much a superior version of the Vanguard Battleship when it comes to its main attack that has a whopping range of 9 tiles. Not to mention that it, like the Battleship, ignores penalties against flying units - so both the Vanguard and Assembly have a pretty good way of discouraging their enemies from exclusively using aircrafts on the water.
The Wrecking ship does lack a healing ability like the Battleship has and I´d also say that the secondary attack “Wrecking shot” is actually inferior to the “Naval Missile”. Not only deals the missile AoE damage but is also available every 2 turns and can be fired up to 9 tiles away - the “Wrecking shot” only has a range 5. It does have a significant chance to disable a target, but realistically things will get hairy if you send your ship THIS close to the enemy formation.
Really the best strategy is to keep Wrecking Ships at a distance and make use of the superior range of their “Naval Railgun”. The range can be further improved with "Rail Accelerators" and "Fireburst Ammunition" drastically boosts the potential damage of the Wrecking Ship. At prime rank the already long range gets increased by another 1 hex. With "Rail Accelerators" a prime-rank Wrecking Ship has range of 11 hexes!

Pros:
+ Great range
+ Good damage
+ can summon a naval mine
+ Good mod potential
+ Good unmodded performance

Cons:
- can only be used on water
- secondary attack is too situational considering you want to stay at range with this ship

My final verdict:
The greatest asset of this ship is it´s massive range, which means it´s best used as a long range sniper. The damage output is quite good too, its the secondary attack that is somewhat of a weakpoint. The naval strike missile of the Vanguard Battleship is much better in terms of versatility and damage, which overall is the best unit to compare the Wrecking Ship with. Still a very solid ship both modded and unmodded, though like most high tier ships not recommendable outside of continents map with a lot of water.

The Shakarn are the second alien race in Age of Wonders Planetfall and are the first race to be added in the game with a DLC. The Shakarn are a race of lizard-like beings that have observed the old Star union for centuries and think that now is the time to reveal themselves and conquer new planets for their empire. Shakarn are quite aggressive aliens: They clearly think themselves superior to humans, which can be heard by listening to the voice lines when you research many of the Shakarns unique technologies.
Another testimony of the aggressive nature of the Shakarn is their very aggressive playstyle both on the strategical and tactical map. On the strategic map they have several different and unique ways to mess with their opponent’s economy.
In combat the Shakarn seem to rely mostly on overwhelming firepower: Many of their units can deal a lot of damage, but in return their defensive stats and range suffer.
The Shakarn also suffer from a lack of a regular support unit. Instead they get the Infiltrator, which offers a fun new “Holoshift” ability to fights, but when it comes down to it, it isn’t really that useful since you cannot mod Infiltrators and since they are expensive its usually better to spent the resources elsewhere. Even worse is the fact that Shakarn, due to their unique physiology, have a really bad resistance against status effects. To offset that, they regenerate a small amount of HP after being injured - not enough to make up for the lack of healing though.
One specialty of the Shakarn is the sonic damage channel. It’s a variation of the standard kinetic damage channel and comes with a variety of nasty debuffs you can inflict on your enemies. This damage tree unfortunately falls short seeing how unreliable most weapon effects are if you compare them to the mods of other weapon trees. Thankfully the Shakarn also come with the laser weapons tree, which allows you to put Laser mods on your racial units that deal both sonic and thermal damage at the same time.
Yep, you heard that right. The Shakarn, at this stage of the game, are the only race in the game that have units that can deal damage in two different damage channels at the same time. This gives you the luxury of combining weapon mods from both weapon trees - you can cherry pick what’s best of both trees and leave the weaker mods aside. Overall a nice addition to the races you can pick. Shakarn offer an aggressive combat style and powerful late-game units. In return, many of their earlier units are kinda lackluster. If you know your game it´s an uphill battle when playing Shakarn similar to how it is with Vanguard, Assembly and Dvar.

Pros:
+ Balanced Shield and Armor protection
+ All Shakarn land units are amphibious
+ Decent debuffs
+ Can use multiple damage channels at the same time
+ Propaganda operations

Cons:
- lack of armor/shield specialization
- weak to debuffs
- weak infantry
- lack of low tier support unit

My final verdict:
The Shakarn are somewhat of a hit or miss faction. Their low tier units just arent all that amazing apart from the Infiltrator. On the other hand, their high tier units are very versatile, hard to kill and deal a tremendous amount of damage. While it´s easy to overlook, you really should try to make use of their amphibious movement as much as you can - great for suprise attacks over water but can also be used to save an outmatched army if you are near the coast.
One unique thing about the Shakarn you should abuse as much as you can are their propaganda abilities, which stack with each other. This allows you to have 3 potent army buffs active permanently as long as you have a Propagator on the battlefield - just one more reason to mass produce that thing.
The weakness to status debuffs is something that´s going to follow you at any stage of the game, so be extra careful around enemy units with instant death attacks or with attacks that incapacitate/stun your units. Overall not a very beginner friendly faction and also doesn´t have the best max potential in the hands of a capable player, but once you get the hang of them they can be quite fun to play.

25💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
30⚡
130⌛
Role: Scout

Main Attack: 3x6 sonic damage (high impact; 7➼)
Other abilities:
“Recon Buoy” (1 AP; 7➼, 2-turn cooldown);
Water Camouflage;
Prime rank: Evasive

The Shakarn weren´t too creative when choosing a name for their scout unit, though frankly
that´s the only real “flaw” this unit has. Regarding defense values, the Recon isn’t outstanding in any regard really. Their 2 shields hold off minor ranged attacks early on in the game, but the pathetic HP of the recon will still doom it against any sort of coordinated attack.
The offensive capabilities are impressive considering that the Recon is a scout unit. It may not deal a lot of damage, but it does have a normal engagement range, which is pretty rare for scouts. More important, it delivers high impact stagger - having this on a ranged unit literally right at the start can go a long way.
Of course, we shouldn´t forget the “Reconnaissance Buoy” the Recon can deploy. That thing gives a good increase in hit chance in a 2-hex radius around the buoy. It can be deployed from normal engagement range, has a 2-turn cooldown and in doubt it at least gives the enemy something else to shoot at. Finally, the Recon is invisible on the water, which allows you to keep tabs on your enemy without being spotted - at least on continents maps.

Pros:
+ Good range
+ Inflicts stagger
+ Good scouting capabilities
+ Good unmodded performance
+ can summon a recon buoy

Cons:
- low survivalbility
- limited mod potential
- low firepower

My final verdict:
The firepower is really weak, but other than that a great combat and scout unit. The high impact stagger on their attack is really useful and since it has a medium range it can help offset the low effective range of your Raiders. The disposable recon buoy is a great distraction and always does something for you, while the overall scouting capabilities of the Recon are quite good. The concealment on water is only noteworthy on continent maps.

10💗
0👢(stationary)
0 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Support summon


The buoy deployed by the Recon. Gives a considerable buff to your accuracy, while it can also serve as a distraction for enemy units or to block off melee units. It has basically no HP at all, so even a half-hearted graze is often enough to knock these things out. Since it´s spawned by your scout, you can really spam Buoys all over the place, which annoys your opponent no matter their strategy: Either they have to waste a unit´s attack to wreck the Buoy or leave it alone and live with the debuff to their units evade.

40💗
40👢(Amphibious)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Main Infantry

Main attack: 3x6 sonic and 3x6 thermal damage (5➼, "Close assault" debuff)
Secondary attack: 7 sonic and 7 thermal damage (1 AP, affects line of 3 hexes in front of the unit, strong impact, chance to cause concussion, 2 turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
“Epimorphic Regeneration” (heal 6 HP if damaged on previous turn);
“Xeno Debilitation” (-2 resistance to status effects);
Prime rank: Critical

The Raider is the main infantry of the Shakarn and is one of the tougher core infantry units. It has 2 armor and even regains some lost HP if they got hurt on the previous turn - very valuable at any stage of the game, although the effect will have little impact on late game battles where units that can kill off enemies in one turn start showing up.
The main attack deals a pretty high amount of damage if you count thermal and sonic damage together. Unfortunately, the attack gets weaker and weaker with increasing distance to the target and since the max range is only 5 tiles you really need to get close to your enemy to deal any real damage with Raiders. The “Xeno Debilitation” all biological Shakarn units have is going to hurt really bad if the enemy is doing anything in terms of status effects - especially instant death abilities are NASTY!
Of course, we aren’t truly finished with the Raider without mentioning their incredibly powerful secondary attack. Not only do you have a chance to cause a concussion with that attack, but it´s also a guaranteed hit and hits a 3-hex line in front of the unit. The only real drawback is that this attack alone won´t be enough to kill enemies outright, especially later on in a game - not to mention the way you have to expose your Raiders in order to get any real use of this ability.
In general, the Raider will have a significant casualty rate, quite similar to Kir´ko Frenzied if misused. Raiders are suited for close-range engagements and really shine against enemy melee units, which have to get close to the Raider in order to deal damage. Regarding mods, I wouldn’t recommend anything expensive due to how easy Raiders tend to die even when you try your best to keep them alive. The “Laser precision module” will bump up the max range of their main attack by one hex, which can help with survival rate - then again that´s a pricy mod for your regular infantry.

Pros:
+ Great close-range damage output
+ Good armor
+ Powerful secondary attack

Cons:
- low range
- poor mid-range performance
- low survivalbility
- low mod potential (high tier mods would be a waste)

My final verict:
Urgh using these guys effectivly is a huge pain when on the offense. The reduced damage on long range has a suprisingly great effect and since base infantry dies fast enough even without a weakness to debuffs you can imagine how easy these guys die. Really the best use of them is on the defense - quite ironically considering the name. If you force the enemy to come to you, not only can you use cover more effectivly, it also means that you can avoid taking the long-range damage penalty of the Raider. As mentioned above, they are great against enemy close-range and melee units.

45💗
32👢(Amphibious, slower in combat)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Main infantry (alternative)

Main attack: 1x9 sonic and 1x9 sonic (1 AP, 7 ➼, High impact)
Secondary attack: 1x8 sonic and 1x8 thermal damage (1 AP, penetrates 2 armor, 3-hex line, 7 ➼)
Other abilities:
“Cumbersome”;
“Deadly overwatch” (+15% crit chance and +15% accuracy);
“Epimorphic Regeneration”;
“Xeno Debilitation”;
Prime rank: Critical

This is an odd unit to say the least. The way the unit is designed you are supposed to think it is a sniper, but the Deadeye just lacks the necessary range on his main attack to really be considered one. He does have a longer range than the Raider and since his attack doesn´t suffer from a damage penalty with increased range they are far better suited for sieges and mid-range engagements. The secondary attack deals slightly less concentrated damage, but allows you to hit a max of 3 units if they all lined up - also useful in order to damage units that hide behind their (large) allies. Like all biological Shakarn units he comes with “Epimorphic Regeneration” and "Xeno Debilitation". “Deadly overwatch" gives you a powerful area denial option.
Not all is good about the Deadeye though. I´ve already mentioned their rather low range for a “sniper” unit (I actually consider them more of an alternative main infantry for the Shakarn). Along with that, they are also slower in combat due to “Cumbersome” - that´s really a big deal considering the Deadeye is an early game unit. If you replace all your Raiders with Deadeyes, you really need to use the terrain to your advantage or support Deadeyes with other, faster units. Laser precision module is a good mod for the Deadeye, since it allows him to close the gap to the snipers of other factions.

Pros:
+ Good armor
+ Powerful secondary attack that can hit multiple enemies
+ Great overwatch
+ Good mod potential

Cons:
- pathetic range for a sniper
- mediocre damage on primary attack
- less movement
- poor unmodded performance

My final verdict:
The slow movement really hurts for a mainstay unit. The survialbility is outstanding for a sniper despite the weakness to status debuffs, but the low range and mediocre damage hold the Deadeye back quite a lot. The penetrating secondary attack is somewhat situational, but in those situations its great. Since the main attack only needs 1 AP to be used it allows you to set up overwatch even after you expended your movement points (unless you went in the red area), this makes close-range combat more viable.

40💗
32👢(Amphibious)
0 ▌ ▌
1👅
90⚡, 10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Wild Card
Main attack: 1x 18 sonic damage (1 AP, high impact, 7➼)
Other abilities: “Holoshift” (1 AP, 7➼, Copies abilities and appearance of target enemy tier 1 or tier 2 unit for 4 turns, without empire upgrade only possible on biological units and cyborgs);
“Holoshift Repeat” (Repeat the last transformation of the Infiltrator);
Defense mode: Evasion;
“Epimorphic Regeneration”;
“Xeno Debilitation”;
Prime rank: Evasive

One of the trademark units of the Shakarn and unfortunately quite underwhelming after the early game. First the actual unit: It has average HP, movement and defensive values for a unit of its tier. The damage output is quite severe considering it only needs 1 AP to be fired, still the very high production cost (Including cosmite!) discourages me to use them very offensively - unless I use the free garrison infiltrators. Things change once you grab all your empire upgrades for infiltrators though - then they can be viable again, just dont excpect them to hold up to strong modded units of the enemy.
“Holoshift” allows the Infiltrator to transform into target enemy tier 1 or tier 2 unit - machines can only be targeted after researching the necessary racial tech. “Holoshift Repeat” becomes available once you´ve used Holoshift for the first time and makes your Infiltrator repeat the previous transformation. This has two MAYOR advantages: For one, you don’t need to expose your infiltrator to enemy fire in order to get a transformation. The other advantage is that this ability carries over from previous battles! Pick your favorite transformation target and stick with it for the remainder of the game! Sadly, auto combat really loves to screw this over, so make sure to double-check what your Infiltrator is going to transform into before clicking that button (just hover over it and it will tell you).
By far the most glaring issue with Infiltrators is that they CANNOT be modded at all. Whatever unit they mimic, its going to be a standard issue, unmodded unit. That´s why the Infiltrator will struggle against modded core armies of your enemy. For that reason, it´s best to use “Holoshift” on units that will be useful to you regardless of mods - usually we are talking support units here. That would also fills the severe gap of dedicated healers of this race. Generally speaking you might also be sometimes better off not using holoshift at all, just because that single hit ranged attack is just so dang powerful. Since shakarn are kind of weak in long-range engagements the infiltrator can fill that role until you can afford to mass produce Propagators and late game units.

Pros:
+ Shapeshift abilities
+ Good defense mode
+ Great damage in base form

Cons:
- Cannot be modded at all
- expensive
- almost pointless late-game

My final verdict:
If you can get a holoshift of a support unit, the infiltrator is great - otherwise there is little incentive to ever use this ability. This is mostly down to her fanastic damage output in her normal form, which is no joke let me tell you that. For that reason it might be worth building them simply to have a great mid-range combat unit, since both Raiders and Deadeyes are somewhat disappointing. Their high cost makes a military innovation center mandatory for mass production.

40💗
32👢(flying)
1 ▌ ▌
1 👅
90⚡
300⌛
10 ₡
Role: Airforce/Support unit
Main attack: 3x8 sonic damage (high impact,7 ➼, +33% damage against aircraft)
Secondary attack: 1x 16 sonic damage (3 AP, 7 ➼, 2-hex cone)
Other abilities: “Holo Mend” (1 AP, heals 15 HP, dispels negative status effects, makes target 15% harder to hit for 2 turns);
“Propagation”;
“Water Camouflage”;
Stagger resistant;
Prime rank: Bypass cover

The Propagator is an interesting mix of combat and support unit. On the one hand, its attack isn’t bad at all since it inflicts high impact. Meanwhile the secondary attack gives you a strong ranged AoE attack which causes severe damage to weak armored targets. When it comes to defense values, the Propagator is average, equally distributing its defense stats between armor and shields - like most aircraft that´s not much to begin with.
The support abilities are the real interesting part of the Propagator. “Holo Mend" is a versatile healing ability that dispels negative status effects as well as granting a small buff to evasion. “Propagation” doesn’t do anything on its own, it needs an active broadcast operation. These broadcasts grant your units buffs or debuff enemies on the battlefield, as long as the Propagator is operational. With all 3 broadcasts active this can be very powerful! Finally, the Propagator has “Water Camouflage” which can be nasty surprise on continent maps.

Pros:
+ Good firepower
+ Inflicts Stagger
+ Propaganda abilities
+ minor healing ability
+ Good secondary attack

Cons:
- somewhat poor mod potential

My final verdict:
Quite good performance unmodded, which is good since the Propagator doesn´t have the best mod potential. The propaganda buffs it can give all friendly units are very good, which makes this aircraft an absolute must have in all your armies. Using it in dedicated aircraft stacks is somewhat less recommendable due to weak weapon mod potential, but as a sort of replacement for your main infantry (for mid range combat) it can work out great - if you got the resources to mass produce them like that.

65💗
32👢(Amphibious)
3 ▌ ▌
2👅
105⚡
400⌛
20 ₡
Role: Heavy Infantry

Main attack: 3x7 sonic damage and 3x7 thermal damage (high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x8 sonic and 1x8 thermal damage (1 AP, 5➼, chance to inflict “impaired” which disables unit mods)
Other abilities: 1x20 kinetic damage (1 AP, massive impact, charge, high chance to cause concussion);
“Large target”;
“Epimorphic Regeneration”;
"Xeno Debilitation”;
Prime rank: Critical;
stagger resistant:
Defense Mode: Hyper Armor

The first Shakarn unit I truly think is great. The Firebrand may be a lot more expensive than normal Raiders but are also MUCH more resistant to damage and can deal a TON of damage with their two melee attacks. Meanwhile they still possess a ranged attack that has the same range as the main attack of the Raider while being stronger and having a chance to inflict “impaired”, a devastating debuff that turns off ALL unit mods of the target.
Speaking of attacks, the Firebrand has three of them: First their regular melee attack that deals a base of 14 damage per hit. Their secondary attack is the already mentioned ranged attack, while the third attack is a one-hit melee attack that deals more damage than a single regular melee attack while having a very high chance to cause a concussion. Even if that fails its still a lot of damage and massive impact. “Charge” causes this third attack to deal more damage if you moved at least 3 hexes before attacking.
Other than that it shares the racial regeneration buff and status effect weakness other biological units of the Shakarn have. I like to imagine them to be Raiders on steroids. Sure, they deal less ranged damage if the Raider could fire 3 times - but that gets offset by the fact that the ranged attack of the Firebrand doesn’t suffer from a damage penalty against targets further away. Add the crazy melee damage output and you got yourself a formidable late game brawler that can deal serious damage if properly supported by other units. Regarding mods, anything that boosts melee strength or defensive values are a good pick.

Pros:
+ Sturdy
+ Fantastic melee damage
+ Powerful ranged attack
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Good mod potential
+ High HP

Cons:
- large unit
- low range on ranged attack

My final verdict:
A huge step up from the low tier infantry. The Firebrand is both an excellent melee brawler and a close-range strike unit, meanwhile his high HP and great defense stats give him excellent survivalbility as well. Pretty much the only real drawback of the Firebrand is how expensive he is along with being a large target unit. In my opinion it is well worth the investment, since your unit losses will be far less severe once you are able to switch your production from Raiders and Deadeyes over to Firebrands.

60💗
32👢(floating)
1 ▌ ▌
3👅
105⚡
400⌛
20 ₡
Role: Support

Main attack: 1x18 (7➼, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Press the advantage” (5➼, restores all AP to target unit, 1 AP, 1-turn cooldown);
“Fallback” (5➼, restores 25 HP, dispels all negative status effects, pulls back unit adjacent to Tactician, 3-turn cooldown);
“One of us all along” (12 kinetic damage, 12➼, spawns friendly Sleeper agent adjacent to enemy tier 1 or tier 2 infantry unit, starts on cooldown, 3-turn cooldown);
“Epimorphic regeneration”;
“Xeno Debilitation”;
Prime rank: Shrug off

Ahh the Tactician. One of if not THE most powerful tier 3 support unit in Planetfall right now. They are tanky enough to take quite a punishment and their main attack isn´t something to laugh at either. Really, the support abilities are what make the Tactician extremely good. For one, there is “Press the advantage”, which is identical to the ability of the Heritor if you discount essence charges. That allows you to pull off some amazing tactics (hence the name of this unit, I already mentioned that the Shakarn are kinda lazy with names).
You could order a Sonokarn to charge up its secondary attack, then restore AP to fire that thing on the SAME turn - hard to prepare against something like that. Or you could build up some ebb stacks for your Refractors and then have them unleash their devastating secondary attack. There really are almost limitless possibilities to use this ability, similar to the PUGs “resupply charge” which takes abilities off cooldowns.
“Fallback” is also a really good support ability and the only serious faction healing you have as a Shakarn player. Not only does it heal for a good 25 HP - it also removes negative status effects and allows to retreat a unit back to safety (you can use this AFTER attacking with a unit to get it back into cover). “One of us all along” is the third and final ability of the Tactician. It allows you to both damage an enemy unit and spawn in a disposable (yet formidable!) Sleeper Agent that fights for you until the end of combat. The best thing about this ability is the extreme range you can use it on - we are talking about a range that rivals a modded, prime-rank dvar rocket artillery here!
All considered defiantly the most powerful support unit in the game so far, they do come for quite a hefty price. Make sure to equip mods that boost survivability or that add even more special abilities to the Tactician - offensive mods are wasted on them.

Pros:
+ Great Support abilities
+ Good firepower
+ High HP
+ Sturdy for a support unit

Cons:
- expensive for a support unit

My final verdict:
In terms of combat capabilities basically a stronger Infiltrator that can also be modded. Using them as a damage dealer is kind of wasteful though due to the very high production cost - focus on the support abilities instead. The Tactician is the only serious faction healing you have access to as the Shakarn, so try to unlock him quickly.

45💗
32👢(Ambhibious)
1 ▌ ▌
0👅
Role: Distraction
Main attack: 3x12 sonic damage (high impact, chance to inflict “reverb”)
Secondary attack: 1x16 sonic damage (1 AP, 5➼, high impact)


Other abilities:
“Flanker”;
“Epimorphic regeneration”;
“Xeno Debilitation”

A quite formidable combat summon you can get with your Tactician or Shakarn heroes. The Sleeper Agent has a good amount of HP (but next to nothing in terms of defense stats). Truly, their focus clearly is offensive firepower. Their melee attack is quite strong for a throwaway unit, while their ranged attack allows them to make use of cover as well.
Other than that there isn’t too much to talk about Sleeper Agent, since they are rather straight forward to use. I´d go as far as to say that they are stronger than unmodded Kir´ko Frenzied due to their really strong ranged attack. Do keep in mind that anything that inflicts stronger status debuffs will trash your Sleeper Agents REAL quick.

My final verdict:
In terms of damage potential a very good summon and there also are several ways to get your hands on them. Get´s killed quite easily though, so best use them as a distraction or to assassinate a key enemy unit.

60💗
32👢(floating)
2 ▌ ▌
3👅
125⚡
440⌛
25 ₡
Role: Main armor/Minor artillery
Main attack: 3x13 sonic damage (7 ➼, gain a stack of ebb after use, ebb stacks cap at 2)
Secondary attack: 1x20 sonic damage (3 AP, 1-turn cooldown, ignores line of sight, 2-9 ➼, +1 AoE and +10% damage for each ebb stack)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode: Shields up;
stagger resistant;
Large target; "Water Camouflage";
Prime rank: "Overwatch"

Easily the strongest tank without mods, the Refractors powerful attacks rip through low tier units with ease and can deal incredible amounts of damage to elite units as well. The main attack doesn’t have much of a specialty to it: An average damage for a tank, with an average range. The one special thing about it is the “ebb and flow” system this tank has going on. Use the main attack of the Refractor builds up ebb stack, which in return can be spend by using the very powerful secondary attack of the Refractor. That delivers a ton of damage in a 1-hex or 2-hex AoE if you have ebb charges - definitly the strongest secondary attack of all tanks.
That hits your enemies like an artillery shell, while radius and damage output get increased with ebb stacks. That makes the Refractor both a powerful main battle tank and a decent assault gun. The Refractor does have one glaring weakness: It´s damage channel. While the plethora of possible debuffs can add up, I do see the sonic damage channel as the second worst in the entire game - only biochemical is worse.
Translation: If mods are out of play a Refractor is a fearsome sight - with mods the firepower of the Refractor can suffer greatly in comparison. Laser Tanks can be upgraded to have a powerful armor and/or immense firepower. Same goes for Dvar Excavators. Meanwhile the Wraith of the Syndicate deals psionic damage, which stays good no matter how much armor you slap on your units and can be equipped with a very powerful shield.

Pros:
+ Great unmodded performance
+ Fantastic artillery attack
+ Good firepower
+ Sturdy

Cons:
- weak mod potential compared to other tanks

My final verdict:
As mentioned above, easily the most powerful tank if mods are out of play. The secondary artillery attack is incredible powerful if you were able to save up 1 or 2 ebb stacks - since those stacks build up with any attack consider just shooting at a random object if your enemy doesn´t have a good shot on the Refractor on that turn. Don´t expect them to win 1v1 fights against heavily modded elite units of the enemy - on the other hand, it´s a beast against unmodded enemies.

65💗
32👢(flying)
2 ▌ ▌
5👅
170⚡
700⌛
40 ₡
Role: Fire Support

Main attack: 3x5 sonic damage and 3x5 thermal damage (7 ➼, high impact, +33% damage against aircraft)
Secondary attack: 1x11 sonic damage and 1x11 thermal damage (1 AP, hits enemies in a 3 hex line,
2-7 ➼, high impact, ignores line of sight, much stronger after “Omni charge” is used)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode “Omni Shield” (this unit and adjacent allies gain 3 shield and +15% evasion chance - this unit gains the usual 25% evasion buff as well);
“Omni charge” (3 AP, massively buffs the next Omni Beam attack: its going to be 6 hex long and 3 hex wide, enters defense mode after use);
Large target

Where do I start? Well the main attack of the Sonokarn is pretty disappointing when it comes to damage output - that’s just not enough for a tier 4 unit. HOWEVER, the secondary attack of the Sonokarn is incredible powerful, since it hits enemies in a 3 hex line while ignoring line of sight penalties - nasty especially in sieges as the enemy tends to bunch of their units. This is even more true when “Omni charge” has been used. That massively buffs the AoE this attack affects: A 6 hex long, 3 hex wide attack is absolutely INSANE if the enemy was foolish enough to bunch up their units - frankly seeing the AoE it can’t even be called bunched up anymore.
Frankly, I see a massive nerf to this attack coming, maybe they in return buff the main attack to be more worthwhile. One thing needs saying though: The Sonokarn can be hit quite easily despite all the buffs it gets - the flying nature shows itself here. Still, the raw damage IS impressive and the defense mode offers a nice 3 shields for your units to make use of. Mods that shred or outright bypass shields can end the career of a Sonokarn quite harshly.

Pros:
+ Great Shields
+ Powerful defense mode
+ Fantastic AoE on secondary attack
+ Inflicts stagger
+ Great mod potential

Cons:
- easy to hit
- weak concentrated firepower
- pathetic primary attack
- has to charge up secondary attack for it to unleash it´s full potential
- mediocre unmodded performance

My final verdict:
With laser weapon mods an absoulte beast with that huge AoE attack - high impact stagger, burning, instant kill ... you name it. Without mods the Sonokarn is very weak though, so there really isn´t a point in unlocking it until you fully researched your laser weapons tree. It´s just too expensive for that pathetic primary attack and fairly low survivalbility if not used on a far range. Overall more of a fun toy to mess around with than a unit you should beeline for.

50💗
40👢(Water)
1 ▌ ▌
3👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Support Vessel
Main attack: 3x13 sonic damage (7➼, high impact)
Other abilities: Sonar analysis (9➼, 3 AP, 2 turn cooldown, moderate chance to inflict scanned for 2 turns on all enemy units in a 2 hex radius);
Defense mode: submerged;
stagger resistant;
extended Farsight;
Water Camouflage

Okay wow. This unit might be one of the most pointless units in the entire game. Seriously the Shakarn just don’t need a navy at ALL because all their units either float or can swim. Hence a unit that is shackled to bodies of water that isn’t even that great is pretty pointless. Like, the Seeker isn’t even such a bad ship, but it´s just very lackluster to the point of being completely obsolete. High impact stagger? Most ships have stagger resistance or even outright immunity to it!
Adding to that it makes exclusive use of the sonic damage channel - so no fancy laser mods you could otherwise use on this vessel. It is decent for scouting purposes and cheap, but still you just got better units for the job, which you then can use on land afterwards. The “Sonar analysis” is meh, since it doesn’t inflict any actual damage - useful in conjunction with other units, but then again it´s not guaranteed to work.

Pros:
+ Good firepower
+ inflicts stagger

Cons:
- debuff is very RNG reliant (mentioning this because it doesnt at least deal some damage if it fails)
- can only be used on water
- very redundant
- limited mod potential

My final verdict:
Again, it´s actually a solid ship - but there is basically no point ever building them. You can use all your shakarn units on the water and be perfectly fine - the Seeker just doesn´t give you anything worth mentioning. The only time I would ever consider building them is when the shakarn aren´t your main faction and you want to build up a navy. The limited mod potential is going to hurt if your enemy has a build-up navy themselves.

Or Honorbound as I nicknamed them, since honor and virtue are two running themes with this faction. The Oathbound are probably THE closest you get to the races of aow3 in terms of military doctrine, that being almost exclusively focused on melee combat. As you can imagine, this is both the biggest strength and biggest weakness of the Oathbound, which of the two shines out the most strongly depends on the terrain, the type of battle and level of strategy both you and your enemy are able to pull off.
First off the strengths: The Oathbound don´t give a DAMN about shield protection, which will make amazons a super easy target, although anything that doesn’t have vanguard or dvar grade armor protection will have a pretty hard time against the late-game melee juggernauts the Oathbound can throw at you. Speaking of armor protection, the Oathbound have a REALLY good armor on ALL of their units and usually a pretty good amount of HP.
Their own shield protection on their late game units is nothing to scoff at either. The unique entropy damage channel allows for some decent debuffs, although it´s the racial and arc mods that can really beef up your units. ESPECIALLY the arc impact module and stun module are godsent for Oathbound units since many of them have a powerful single-hit attack. Needless to say, the plethora of arc damage allows the Oathbound to trash machines with ease - if they can reach them, which gets us to their biggest weakness.
That is being super reliant on cover and the overall layout of the combat map. Seriously, if you are unlucky with the semi-randomly generated combat maps you can be in a lot of trouble, if you can´t compensate with good tactics. Thankfully the basic infantry of the Oathbound does have a medium ranged arc attack as well, which really comes in handy in many situations. Late-game units completely lack this ability - even worse, almost all of the Oathbounds frontline units are large-target units!
That really screws them over in many situations, especially when the enemy uses decent tactics and the terrain to their advantage. And DON´T get me started on city battles. Up until you get Paladin Champions or make good use of the Marquis hero vehicle (ALWAYS GET THIS THING, its super strong especially with arc mods) you are at a huge disadvantage in these defender-friendly battles. Early game you are pretty much forced to build a crap load of Augurs/Scyrers to compensate for this weakness.
Needless to say, due to the way you have to expose your units to really utilize their strength you WILL have casualties if you aren’t careful - the Oathbound are a pretty difficult faction to start the game with. But with patience, practice and arc mods (get inflict stun ASAP) you really can turn the game into a nightmare for machine and shield reliant factions.

Pros:
+ Great melee options
+ Great base units
+ Fantastic modding potential
+ Diverse support units
+ Heroes can buff your economy
+ Sturdy units

Cons:
- few mid range and long range options
- most of your units are large, making them easy to hit
- lack of proper aircraft
- weak navy

My final verdict:
If you ever wanted to dunk on someone in multiplayer, this might be the best faction to do it with. The skill ceiling is quite high, since you really need to be careful with unit placement and don´t have whole lot of ranged options. But with insane modding possibilities, a plethora of potent debuffs, very sturdy units and a diverse set of units you are a force to be reckoned with late-game.
By far the most important thing really is to unlock the powerful arc impact module, stun module and arc extention module to really beef up your units. Of course you shouldn´t forget about your biggest strenght: Your melee capabilities. Modded Oathbound Paladin units trash EVERYTHING if you give them the good arc mods, see above. Since Oathbound units are so diverse I won´t cover them in all detail here.
In terms of faction weaknesses, there is quite a bit to cover as well. The most glaring issue really is your lack of reliable mid-range and long-range units if you can´t get your hands on units of other factions (or alternativly buy enough NPC units). Another pretty big disadvantage is the lack of an actual airforce. Don´t get me wrong: You actually do have two flying units at your disposal, the Watcher and the excellent Paladin Champion. It´s just that both of them have a very specialized role and don´t perform all too well outside of that specialty. The navy is another pretty big disadvantage, since your only naval unit, the galleon, is ... situational, to put it mildly. Finally, almost all your units are easy to hit due to large target.

30💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
1👅
30⚡
130⌛
Main attack: 3x7 entropy damage (7 ➼)
Other abilities:
“Gift of Precognition” (7➼, 1-turn cooldown, grants damage evasion for 1 attack);
"All-round awareness";
"Far sight";
Prime rank: +1➼

The Scryer is the Oathbounds scout unit and it does a really good job at it too thanks to flying movement and far sight. Where the Scryer really shines though is their ability to cover for the long-range weakness of the Oathbound, as the Scryer is able to fire at a normal engagement range of 7 tiles. On prime rank this is even bumped up to a range of 8 tiles, which makes the Scryer the only true long-range ranged option you have as the Oathbound in terms of regular units. Really, I cannot stress this enough, that range weakness will hurt you if you don´t plan on compensating for it somehow.
The attack itself is okay for a scout, its frankly not a whole lot - but better than nothing. It´s also only slightly weaker than the main attack of Augur while the Scryer is MUCH cheaper to produce. “Gift of Precognition” is the special ability of the Scryer, giving one of your units a buff that lets them ignore the next damaging ability the enemy throws at them. This is EXTREMLY good against enemies that hit only once - aow3 veterans will recognize this as a beefed-up version of the lucky ability the halflings had. Since it´s guaranteed and cannot be stacked on a single unit, you can plan around it though - just use repeating, low-damage attacks to get rid of the precognition before moving in with the big guns.

Pros:
+ Good range
+ Good scouting capabilities

Cons:
- Weak firepower
- Poor mod potential
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
In terms of ranged units your early backbone, so build a lot of these if you can´t afford the slightly more powerful Augurs. Like most scout units it is very frail and easily taken out by one or two well placed shots. Since the Scryer uses a repeating attack, it doesn´t have the best modding potential. It also works perfectly fine as a scout unit, which allows you to easily switch them out for more powerful alternatives once they become available later on in the match.

40💗
32👢(land)
2 ▌ ▌
0👅
35⚡
150⌛
Role: Base Infantry/Bodyguard

Main attack: 1x18 shock damage (melee, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x15 shock damage (1 AP, 5➼)
Other abilities:
“First Strike” (This units melee overwatch always triggers first, unless flanked);
“Against all odds” (gains +5% evasion for each enemy unit within 2 tiles of itself);
Defense mode: “shields up”;
Prime rank: morale

The basic infantry of the Oathbound and really the backbone of your fighting force unless you can afford to mass-produce late game Champions. The Aspirant has a good armor for a tier 1 core infantry unit and it´s also the only melee unit of the Oathbound that is NOT a huge target - that alone makes the Aspirant viable late-game. The “shields up” defense mode further helps the survival chance of this unit, same goes for “against all odds” which boosts the evade chance for any enemy within 2 tiles of the Aspirant - quite powerful if he is outnumbered by ranged units, but useless against other melee units.
The main attack of the Aspirant deals a huge amount of arc damage for a tier 1 unit, but it only hits once and since it´s a melee ability you need to be close to your enemy in order to utilize it. That is very rewarding though, since the unique “first strike” ability of the Aspirant allows him to ALWAYS strike first in melee combat, unless he got staggered or flanked. This ability trashes other melee units without stagger resistance/immunity (especially with Arc impact module or stun module), since the Aspirant will stagger the enemy as they try to strike him.
This also makes the Aspirant a really formidable bodyguard if you managed to get ranged units into your army. The secondary mid-range attack is also pretty important, as this allows you to remain in cover while still dealing a good chunk of damage. That or if the enemy is just barely too far away or is a flying unit. Apart from already mentioned arc mods, something that grants stagger resistance is also a good idea, since the Aspirant lacks this without mods.

Pros:
+ Fantastic melee damage
+ First Strike on melee attack
+ Good ranged backup attack
+ Good Armor
+ Good Defense Mode
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Great modding potential
+ Normal Sized unit
+ versatile

Cons:
- low range
- no stagger resistance

My final verdict:
These guys will DOMINATE your enemies (or you) if they get in someone´s face. Not only do they have a great damage output, but their melee attack will also ALWAYS trigger first if they aren´t flanked or attacked by a hostile unit with first strike. His close-range attack is also quite potent, quite similar to the Scavengers shotgun - it doesnt stagger though.
However, since both of these attacks are single-hit abilities you can both move the Aspirant and still unleash their full wraith once they get in range of their enemy. This also opens up a fantastic synergy with the arc stun module, as the chance of success is very high because the Aspirant only strikes once. Pretty much the only serious drawback of the Aspirant is his lack of stagger resistance, so if you can somehow get your hands on a mod that grants this slap it onto them!

45💗
32👢(land)
5 ▌ ▌
0👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Heavy Infantry/Minor Healer
Main attack: 3x13 shock damage (melee, high impact)

Other abilities:
“Embolden” (1 AP, all friendly units within 2 hexes heal 15 HP and lose all psionic status effects, low tier units gain heroism until the end of battle, letting them deal +10% damage for every tier above themselves);
Defense mode: Paladin shields (grant +2 shields for itself and friendly adjacent units);
"Large target";
"Juggernaut";
"Exposed Flanks";
stagger resistant;
Prime rank: shrug off

The Paladin Protector certainly isn’t terrible as a unit, but there isn’t really a point in using them.
Why? Well first off, he is a large target melee unit, which already puts a big restrain on this unit. Then their damage output just isn’t worth it at all. Sure, if he hits 2 or 3 times he could theoretically out-damage the Paladin Aspirant, but at least for the first turn of melee combat you will often be stuck with a single attack. The per-hit damage of the Protector is lower than the damage of the single-hit attack of the Aspirant, which means the armor of the target is also taking a slightly bigger effect. Finally, the Protector is completely stuck in melee combat, quite similar to the Ravenous or the Wrecker - but these two at least have the support of their racial ranged units to count on.
But as usual, there aren’t just bad things about a unit, same with the Paladin Protector. First off, he has a REALLY strong armor for a tier 2 unit, allowing him to take a good amount of punishment - due to exposed flanks, he is weak to flank maneuvers of the enemy though. The defense mode of the Protector grants him and adjacent allies 2 additional shields, which is a pretty neat addition to the already beefy Oathbound units. Probably still the best thing about this unit is the AoE healing ability that removes psionic status effects and also grants heroism on tier 1 and tier 2 units - good later in the game or against tough defender stacks in treasure sights.
Overall, I gotta say that the complete lack of ranged abilities in combination with “large target” and insufficient damage output (compared to the Aspirant) make this unit pretty obsolete - especially if you chose the Marquis as your hero starting vehicle, as you will have healing covered if you do.

Pros:
+ Great Armor
+ Good melee damage
+ Powerful defense mode

Cons:
- large unit
- no ranged attack
- weak to flanking
- redundant considering how great Aspirants are

My final verdict:
Can be quite good if modded correctly, but I still say that you are better off mass-producing Aspirants and mod them instead. The AoE healing of the Protector is VERY good though, so make sure to use it as often as you can. The survivalbility of the Protector can be suprisingly low because of how easy he is to hit and because of the exposed flanks. Propably the worst thing about him is the complete lack of a ranged attack.

40💗
32👢(floating)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Ranged fighter/Support
Main attack: 3x8 entropy damage (7➼)
Other abilities:
“Gift of adamance” (7➼, 1 AP, target gains last stand which means they cant die for one turn, heals 20 HP on the next turn, once per battle);
“Curse of Fatalism” (9➼, 3-turn cooldown, target enemy gains fatalism = +100% easier to hit); record keeper (units gain +25% experience boost after battle, except for other seer units);
Prime rank: evasive

The basic support unit of the Oathbound that doubles as a ranged fighter. The damage output is slightly higher than that of the Scryer and thanks to his great “gift of adamance” ability you can start to take some serious risks with your units, since they literally can´t die unless this effect is removed. Since you have to dedicate to melee combat you will risk losing units pretty fast even if you are careful, so this ability is a godsent for the Oathbound - the 20 HP recovery after this ability wears off is just the icing on the cake.
Next, the “Curse of Fatalism” is a pretty strong debuff, since the additional +100% hit chance is devastating if you got powerful ranged units. Having an enemy fail all resistance checks (except for instant death abilities) is also a fantastic set up for debuffs like stun. Both of these fantastic abilities turn the Augur into a solid choice for other factions as well. The passive “record keeper” ability boosts the experience gain for non-seer units, which is really nice to have for armies that have heroes or low-rank high tier units. Overall, defiantly not a unit you want to pass up as Oathbound and since he doesn’t require extra research to unlock also a good unit for many other factions.

Pros:
+ Good range
+ Good healing ability
+ Potent debuff

Pros:
- Weak firepower
- poor mod potential

My final verdict:
Quite useful both as a support unit and as a mid-range unit. Due to the high production cost, using the Augur for the latter quickly gets very expensive though - I personally stick with the much cheaper Scryer. The healing doesn´t restore a whole lot of HP, so use it mostly to save a unit from dying completly rather than to heal a damaged unit.

40💗
32👢(land)
3 ▌ ▌
1👅
70⚡
250⌛
Role: Close-range combatant
Main attack: 1x20 shock damage (5➼, 1 AP, high impact)
Other abilities:
Wardens Banner (7➼, 1x9 electric damage, spawns a warden banner, which gives a friendly unit within 5 tiles +20% crit chance and flanking immunity);
stagger resistant;
overwatch;
juggernaut;
Defense mode: inspiring warden (+200 morale for friendly units within 2 tiles);
Large target;
prime rank: critical

Ok fellas, we reached the low point of the Oathbound. This unit is POINTLESS to use, even more so than the Paladin Protector. He does have a potent ranged attack but god WHY does he have to be a large target, this seriously kills this unit. You can´t use cover, you are super easy to hit for most ranged units and worst of all the Warden doesn´t even have the armor or shields to compensate for this huge shortcoming.
Sure, 20 arc damage UNMODDED is a big deal especially against machines, but you have to get within 5 tiles to actually use it - that’s the same range that the Aspirant has on his ranged attack. You see a reoccurring theme here? Why would I use a Warden if the Aspirant´s ranged attack is only slightly weaker, while he also possesses a powerful melee ability and can actually take cover. Sure, you can still hide behind large cover, but that doesn’t solve the other issues the Warden has - besides you still need to step out of the cover to use his ability.
The secondary “Wardens Banner” is good I guess, +20% crit chance is always nice and flanking immunity can be useful on Champions and Aspirants, but since the Warden is so expensive for what little he gives you plus the fact that you need to enact a doctrine to allow you to manually use banners just kill this ability. Do yourself a favor and don´t bother with this unit apart from garrisons.

Pros:
+ Great Firepower
+ Good accuarcy
+ Somewhat good mod potential (I´d consider it a waste of cosmite though)

Cons:
- Large unit
- Low range
- situational
- redundant considering how versatile Aspirants are
- low survivalbility

My final verdict:
Still my least favorite Oathbound unit. Similar to the Protector, he can be good with mods - then AGAIN you are simply better off building modded Aspirants most of the time. The damage output is by far the best thing about him, with mods he is a one-shot killing machine - without mods he is basically target practice. That´s down to how easy he is to hit and how low his defense stats are for a large target, close-range unit.

40💗
32👢(flying)
0 ▌ ▌
2👅
90⚡
10 ₡
300⌛
Role: Support/Debuffer

Main attack: 1x9 entropy damage (range: 7 tiles, can jump up to 2 other additional targets that are within 2 tiles of the target, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
“Gift of providence” (range: 7 tiles, 1 AP, 3-turn cooldown, grants guaranteed critical hits to target unit);
“Lash of adversity” (range: 7 tiles, 1 AP, can jump up to 2 other additional targets that are within 2 tiles of the target, affected enemies fumble their attacks for the next turn);
Record keeper;
prime rank: evasive

Kind of a similar story to the Augur, just that I dislike the fact that the Watcher is able to dish out less concentrated damage and instead has this gimmicky ability to hit up to 2 additional units that were close to the target. This IS great for debuffing abilities though, since it is a single hit ability. “Gift of Providence” is also a really dope ability - guaranteed critical hits are just INSANE, especially if you use the Watcher with other factions - a Dvar Rocket Launcher is terrifying if it hits you with 3 critical barrages from across the map. Useful on Oathbound units too though.
The debuff of the Watcher called “Lash of adversity” has the same gimmicky ability the regular attack has with jumping to 2 adjacent targets but dang that IS a strong debuff. Suffering from a guaranteed fumble basically forces your opponent to play defensively with these units or use support abilities instead - enough to close the distance for your melee units or to generally reduce the damage your enemy is able to dish out in one turn. Finally, the Watcher also has the “record keeper” ability for some extra experience after battle.
The lack of a healing ability is kinda lame though so make sure to either send a hero, Augur or Diviner along for that. Requires a little investment for other factions but can still be worth it. You could pass up on Watchers if you just want them for the guaranteed crit, since the Oathbound have the same ability as a tactical operation right at the start of their tech tree - still, having it for free and being able to select a different operation on that turn is a sizeable advantage.

Pros:
+ Great crit buff
+ Potent debuff
+ Great for inflicting status debuffs
+ Good modding potential

Cons:
- expensive
- weak concentrated damage
- poor unmodded performance
- somewhat redundant

My final verdict:
Not exactly my cup of tea, since a dedicated debuffer is usually only useful during bigger, evenly matched battles. The entropy debuffs can add up a lot, but at the same time you already got access to the incredible powerful stun debuff from your Paladin units. Neither the crit chance buff (which can be subsituted by an operation) nor the concentrated damage output justify building these over other seer units.

60💗
32👢(flying)
3 ▌ ▌
1👅
125⚡
25 ₡
440⌛
Role: Brawler/Flanker
Main attack: 1x22 shock damage (melee, high impact)
Secondary attack: 1x16 shock damage (9➼, 3 AP (continue), hits 1-tile radius, high impact, 2-turn cooldown)
Other abilities:
Defense Mode: “Indomitable champion” (gains tireless = melee overwatch can trigger several times, but only once per enemy , gains resolute = doesn’t lose overwatch on stagger );
"Against all odds";
large target;
“swooping overwatch” (overwatch triggers on ground units);
stagger resistant;
Prime ranK: morale

Heck yeah! We are in for a fantastic unit now! Paladin Champions are a ridiculously strong melee juggernaut which thanks to his flying movement is usually a bit harder to hit than the awful Protector or useless Wardens. What makes the Paladin Champion so great isn’t just the fact that he FLIES allowing him to IGNORE annoying cover in the way - his melee attack also deals an outright disgusting amount of damage even unmodded.
Other great things about the Champion is his “swooping overwatch”, which basically means he can use his melee overwatch on both flying AND ground units - this is his unique ability. Also unique is his very good defense mode: While it doesn’t grant more armor or shields, it gives him two very strong abilities. The first is resolute, which means the Champion won´t lose his melee overwatch if he is staggered - good already. But it’s the second ability that is incredible powerful: tireless. With this, he doesn’t lose his melee overwatch if he uses it on an enemy. Yes, you heard that right: You can park him in the middle of an enemy formation, put him on defense and just watch the mayhem unfold. And since he uses a single-hit attack he delivers his FULL damage with every overwatch attack - that’s just insane especially against the AI!
And I didn’t even talked about his secondary attack, which not only allows the Champion to teleport across the map, but also deals a very high damage - with the option to follow up with a melee hit or to put him on defense. Combine this ability with my advice to park him in the middle of an enemy formation and you just deadlocked all units next to the Champion.
Of course you will have to deal with Champions yourself at some point, so what to do? Best course of action? Spread out your units! If you got enough good ranged units you can pick off the Champion after he charged in - yeah you can´t really prevent that from happening unless you stagger him every turn. But after he did, you should be able to finish him off if you just got enough free units around - maybe you are lucky and the AI/enemy player was foolish enough NOT to put him on defense. Other than that, operations that deal a good chunk of concentrated damage or get rid of armor/shields can be a lifesaver as well - you just have to experiment with it. Just don´t feel bad about losing units to Champion suicide charges - that usually hurts the Oathbound player much more than you because good lord Champions are expensive for a tier 3 unit.
Champions get outright disgusting when paired with arc impact module and the stun module - take these guys out AS FAST AS YOU CAN if you have to face them - thankfully due to the high cost your enemy shouldn’t have a lot of these … hopefully. Else be prepared to lose units, really the best advice if you face a competent Oathbound player/AI is to spread out your units so you don´t get rekt by the Champions super strong defense mode.

Pros:
+ Insane damage output
+ Fantastic defense mode
+ flying
+ Good overwatch
+ Great modding potential
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Powerful secondary attack

Cons:
- Large size
- easy to hit
- expensive
- Somewhat weak armor

My final verdict:
While not being the toughest unit of your faction, they are the absolute king of massive burst damage. Their single-hit attack easily one-shots low tier units when modded which is fantastic in combination with the defense mode of the Champion. Modding the Champion is very expensive, but also very rewarding turning an already great unit into a flying nightmare for your enemy.

55💗
32👢(floating)
0 ▌ ▌
4👅
105⚡
20 ₡
400⌛
Role: Support/Debuffer
Main attack: 1x14 entropy damage (1 AP, 7➼, 1 tile aoe, high impact)
Other abilities:
“Gift of Foresight” (3 AP, 7➼, 1-turn cooldown, all friendly units in 1-tile aoe gain 1 stack of precognition);
“Curse of Inevitability” (3 AP, 7➼, all enemies in 1-hex aoe gain fatalism for 1 turn);
“Not your time” (7➼, 3 AP, heals 40 HP or resurrects target non-tier 4 friendly unit for 50% HP, affected units gain "resurgence" and "unwavering" which grants +30% crit chance if below 30% HP);
record keeper;
large target;
prime rank: evasive

We are nearing the end now. The Diviner is the highest tier seer unit you can build and he IS pretty formidable. First off, he has a powerful AoE attack that might be weaker than dedicated artillery attacks, but can be used every turn - only the Rocket Artillery and the Barrager have that luxury and they deal less damage if they can only fire a single time.
Of course the main focus of the Diviner is still support abilities and debuffs. He has a REALLY good healing ability called “not your time”, restoring a hefty 40 HP to a unit or reviving up to tier 3 units with 50% HP. Perhaps even better for the somewhat risky playstyle of the Oathbound: This ability also grants resurgence, no matter if you revived a unit with it or healed it. The unwavering buff is pretty neat if you intend to suicide run said unit to deal a high amount of damage - he will just come back if you win the battle anyways. Just make sure the enemy doesn’t do a cheeky disjunct else you might have wasted a valuable unit.
“Curse of Inevitability” is the Diviner´s debuff and man it is nasty - fatalism for up to 9 units if the enemy was really this stupid with unit placement. Just think of how easy all affected units are to hit with ranged units - if you got any that is. The Diviner also has the “Gift of Foresight” ability allowing him to give up to 9 allied units precognition - helps a lot against single-hit enemies.
There is one HUGE drawback the Diviner has in comparison with his low tier cousins, the Augur and the Watcher. No, not the price although it is hefty for a support unit. It´s the fact that the Diviner needs full action points to use any of his fantastic support abilities. No big deal when you are defending, but when on the offense that can really be a big issue since you need a turn to set up, unless you use the Diviner as an artillery unit for that turn - a 7 range AoE attack every turn can add up quite a lot! Finally, the Diviner is also considered a large target and has the “record keeper” ability, boosting the experience gain of non-seer units in that army. Regarding mods, you can´t really go wrong with either more firepower, more support abilities or better defense values - the choice is yours.

Pros:
+ Good firepower
+ Good modding potential
+ Good for inflicting debuffs
+ Potent debuffs
+ Fantastic healing
+ Revive ability

Cons:
- expensive
- needs a turn to prepare its abilities (unless in a defensive situation)

My final verdict:
I hardly ever get to the point where I am able to use Diviners on a large scale. Their abilities and damage output are quite good, but it takes so long to unlock them and once you do you propably rather spent your cosmite for modding Champions, Aspirants and possibly even Exemplars. Because of the single-hit AoE attack of the Diviner he is great for inflicting entropy debuffs on your enemy.

75💗
32👢(amphibious)
5 ▌ ▌
5👅
170⚡
40 ₡
400⌛
Role: Brawler

Main attack: 3x14 shock damage (melee, high impact, hits enemies adjacent to the exemplar for 50% damage)
Other abilities:
“Ordain shield” (1 AP, 5 range, grants target ally +4 shields, switches to "Glaive mode");
Defense mode: protector shields (+2 shields for itself and adjacent allies);
Stagger resistant;
huge target (blocks line of sight);
“Shield mode” (cancels ordain shield, available only in "Glaive mode", gain +4 shields and the defense mode: protector shields);
unstoppable juggernaut;
Mode switch: "Glaive" (available only in "Shield mode", lose 4👅, gain +25% damage, fast movement, "Onslaught" (secondary attack, 1x30 arc damage, can instantly kill tier 1 and tier 2 units, 3 turn cooldown, 1 AP), "Blitz" (5➼, secondary attack, 1x15 arc damage, 2 tile aoe, 1 AP), gain the Defense mode: evasion);
prime rank: shrug off

Ah yes, the Exemplar. Personally, I prefer the more mobile and still beefy Champions over the Exemplar but he IS a melee juggernaut like no other unit out there. First a repeating, unmodded attack that deals 14 damage is very good, he trashes machines or shield reliant enemies without any issues. He even deals half his damage to enemies that are adjacent to the Exemplar - so same story as with Champions, do NOT bunch up your units.
The Exemplar actually does come with two separate modes, similar to the Assembly Reaver. First is his normal mode (the “shield mode”), where the Exemplar has a REALLY powerful shield which in combination with his good armor gives him a very high resistance against any type of enemy attack. In this mode, he has the same defense mode as the Protector, granting another 2 shields to him and adjacent allies when on defense - since the Exemplar is a “huge target” unit you can actually have “large target” units hide behind the Exemplar. Of course, the size if this thing means he will be easy to hit but with that armor and high HP he can take a beating before going down. The “ordain shield” is his final ability during shield form, allowing him to grant an ally an additional 4 shields - this also switches him to “Glaive Mode” - if you plan to use this mode, there is literally no reason not to give this huge buff to one of your allies.
During “Glaive mode” the Exemplar is a little bit more vulnerable to damage (he can still take a beating though) but in return he moves faster, gains a flat +25% damage boost (which is substantial for a unit of his caliber) and two additional attacks he can use. The first one is called “blitz”: He can quickly close a small gap between him and the target and deal a big chunk of damage in a 2 tile AoE - that is super good with a mod like stun module. Then there is also the “onslaught” attack the Exemplar gains, which deals an obnoxiously high amount of damage in a single hit, which has a high chance to instantly kill low tier units - if they didn’t just die from the raw damage in the first place. In this mode, the Exemplar has the “evasion” defense mode, which really helps if the enemy is ranged focused - in all honestly, rushing in against an Exemplar with non-tier 3 melee units is just straight up suicide.
Apart from the huge cost and cosmite upkeep that a tier 4 unit brings with it the huge target can be considered the biggest weakness of the Exemplar, thanks to “amphibious movement” you can at least use him in naval battles as well - not that I would recommend it.

Pros:
+ Great Armor
+ Great Shield
+ Good HP
+ Very good damage output
+ Good defense mode
+ Good unmodded performance
+ Good modding potential
+ can switch to a more mobile mode if needed

Cons:
- huge unit
- no dedicated ranged attack

My final verdict:
This behemoth of a unit annihliates anything it reaches, but since his attack is repeating he performs the best when on the defense (or by attacking a nearby enemy). For that reason the "challenge" racial mod (that forces an enemy to approach the caster) is incredible effective with the Exemplar. The lack of a ranged attack doesn´t really matter as much, since the Exemplar is a high tier specialist, unlike the low tier Protector that is more of a heavy infantry and much less versatile than the tier 2 combat unit of most other factions. I personally prefer to stay in the shield mode most of the time, the glaive mode usually only comes into play if I have to shut down a group of enemies or for easier cleanup after the fight is decided in my favor.

50💗
32👢(water)
2 ▌ ▌
2👅
50⚡
150⌛
Role: Naval Battering Ram
Main attack: 1x25 arc damage (massive impact, melee)
Secondary attack: 1x18 arc damage (1➼, hits in a 3-hex cone, turbulence, 1 AP)
Other abilities:
"Large target"

This ship is weird, quite misplaced in an age of futuristic naval battles. Don´t get me wrong, this thing deals a disgusting amount of damage with its primary ram attack, annihilating anything that doesn’t have a good armor - especially machines are in trouble once this thing is in their face. Then there is the secondary attack that works like a breath attack of an aow3 dragon - in this particular case that means a 3-hex cone that deals a lot of damage and might even cause turbulences for air units. Since this can be used every turn and only needs 1 AP to be used, a Galleon surely means trouble once it breached your perimeter.
There lies the problem. For being a melee/close range naval combat unit, the Galleon has a pretty weak armor and the shield is rather meh as well. While the Galleon can deal a lot of damage to other units on the water, enemy units can do the same. Like all units that split their defense stats between armor and shield, the galleon is very vulnerable to abilities that destroy armor or overload shields - if said ability doesn’t outright bypass one or the other. To top it all off, the Galleon, despite being the only ship the Oathbound can build, is a large target unit - in combination with how this ship has to expose itself that is a pretty big disadvantage.
What I am saying is that you are probably better off using Seer units or Champions in naval battles - the Galleon just really isn’t that great. Land-based huge target melee units are already quite bad without good support or superior tactics/mods, but (again) since the Oathbound CAN´T build other ships they are stuck with Galleons as far as a dedicated navy goes. Now, if you can get ships of other factions, THEN mixing in a Galleon or two is a good choice - but other than that it´s really not that great if the odds aren’t already in your favor. As a silver lining, the Galleon is at least quite cheap, which allows for a more suicide/risky playstyle. While the inflict stun mod is usually a godsent for the Oathbound and certainly IS very strong with the Galleons secondary attack, I usually rather not spent my cosmite on such an expensive mod for a naval unit - after all, that stun module could go on one of my Aspirants and Champions instead.

Pros:
+ Very high damage output
+ Powerful short-range attack

Cons:
- Large unit
- low range
- Situational
- low survivalbility
- Can only be used on water

My final verdict:
Despite the large target and pathetic survialbility, I still prefer the Galleon over the Kir ko low-tier ship. The massive damage potential speaks for itself, but again you NEED to use this ship alongside long-range/mid-range units in order to force the enemy to approach you. The Galleon performs really poor against a prepared defensive formation. If you face Galleons and can´t kill them in time then spreading out your units is a good idea - that way that AoE attack won´t be such a big issue.

There we go, you´ve reached the end! Hope this guide helped you getting a better understanding of each faction unit Planetfall has to offer. I personally found out many different strategies during the creation period of this guide and I hope I was able to deliver my advice without too much "nerd talk" ;)

There really are a lot of things you can miss about a unit if you just glance over it quickly - if you really take your time and read some of the units abilities, you can learn a lot from them. My personal favorite might still be the Drone Carrier, which seems like a godawful tier 4 at first glance, but can actually work out pretty good if you play your cards right (of course its still one of the weakest tier 4 units, don´t get me wrong there).

Feel free to post feedback or suggestions in the comments below. Maybe you think I didn´t give a unit enough credit - or gave them too much of it. Maybe you know a fantastic mod combination that really enhances a unit a lot and give it more playstyles. Or maybe you just found a typing mistake or didn´t find a particular information you were looking for. While some advice in the guide is based on experiences against AI players, most of them should work just fine to PVP games. Should you still be looking for playmates, you can post a comment in here as well. I myself have no problem playing with new players, helping them get a better understanding of the game.

As said in the beginning, I will update the guide accordingly once new DLCs/Updates are released. If you liked the guide make sure to give it a thumbs up, I´d appreciate it :)
Have a nice day everyone!



BTW if you are playing AoW 3, I´ve created two guides for that game as well, you can find them here:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1427257568
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1463804699