G'day FORTS fans!

If you managed to get here I'd guess you want to rain fear, death, and destruction upon the enemy. If so you're in luck, this guide will cover the strategy and methods behind Tier 3s so you can do it yourself.

Otherwise, if you ended up here without even knowing what a Tier 3 is..... Welcome, I can show you incredible power and rulings of RNGesus on the level of drunk warheads.

Else you are likely a heretic or troll so GET OFF MY SHIP!

(TL;DR version) https://youtu.be/u59XL46-1oU


Tier 3s are, at least traditionally, cannons swung on ropes to shoot into the sky. And what goes up, must come down.... Defending against tier 3s can be costly, and not only in terms of resources. The extra weight can collapse bases, and defenses can make expanding difficult and risky.

The name originates from early forts (mid 2017 is the earliest reference I can find):
Tier 1 fire mortars, Tier 2 heavy mortars, Tier 3 cannon.
Tier 4 was a term given to a few things but 20 mils when they still had 0 deviation during scattershot active is the greatest consensus. I have also seen it used for howitzer t3s, buster t3s, and indef upgrades t3s.

Just because you know how to make a T3 doesn't mean it's a good idea

Following are the main points to take into consideration when deciding to commit to Tier 3s

(steam does not like loading gifs so you may need to reload the page)

-is there a roof to the map that will kill projectiles?
this is common on flying-forts/fortships maps, and an inherent issue on maps like stalactites


-is your base in a confined area where you cannot maneuver the hitbox to avoid terrain?
hitboxes can be larger than you would expect so trying to put a T3 too close to a wall may end in disaster. By default you can enable debug mode with Crtl + Shift + D(currently doesn't work in game, only replays)


-is there a mod that prevents you from using a certain method?
some mods disable joint rotation breaks or instantly break ropes connecting to unclaimed bases. If your design relies on these you may need to test in the early game.

JOINT ROTATION BREAKS NORMAL


JOINT ROTATION BREAKS DISABLED


ROPES NORMAL
(you need to delete both braces at almost the same time)


ROPES BROKEN



-where is your base?
are you likely to get targeted early by being a front base? does the enemy have an angle on your T3 position with direct fire?
red = bad

-can you build a T3 position without invalidating your energy production?
this primarily comes down to practice, design, and how much space to build you are given. Cannons can be really energy hungry especially if you don't have to wait for doors to repair so energy production is incredibly valuable.

-how much apm is required elsewhere?
tdm vs co-op, how good are your teammates? are you going to have to invest a lot of resources and time into redesigning? The more time you have to set up undisturbed the better (even before cannons are available), just don't leave yourself open to get one shot.

Co-op
Often one of the most optimal situations for T3s. As long as your team is competent you can focus on setting up, scouting, and defending if need be. Your choice of target and aim can quickly turn the game if you can waste enough of their resources and time, set off a chain reaction of batteries, cause chaos, or straight up destroy cores with coalesced cannon shells.

But.... a bad co-op team often needs micromanaging to avoid critical failures due to structural weakness, poorly placed weapons, and metal spam. Your best hope is probably going to be to get only 1 or maybe 2 simple T3 setups, come back when you have time and hope the T3 distracts the rando that was trying to place 20 mils in front of the core the whole game.

Team Death Match (& + AI)
NGL it tends to be a lot harder to set up in TDM. Your apm is going to be split between setup and defense and the chance of being targeted is real. Maps/lobbies that favor late game are going to be your friend whether they do this with a wall between the teams, a truce , or starting base design. If a teammate has a magnabeam and good timing it can lead to some DISGUSTING shots the enemy could hardly defend from if they wanted. I would recommend getting a bit of support to help your team, even it it's just aa and a sniper, protecting your team is protecting the longevity of your allied meat-shields and possibly only hope.

Capture Point
There is typically minimal if any use for T3s in capture point. The cores are practically invulnerable until the end, a significant portion of the base is also protected, and what is exposed is often background bracing. A T3 buzzsaw or flak from an unexpected angle could surprise the enemy but your apm is almost always demanded elsewhere.

With the commander update (release 2020-10-09b) many abilities were added or revamped.

Each commander will get a summary of their relevance to T3s and ranked stats for:

eco- This will include direct economy boosts like pinchfist's reclaim and passive economy boosts like buster's free foundations. economy is always important but for T3s you'll have to manage economy differently than many other builds: investment in stability and a T3 position, less doors to repair, and energy to fire T3s.

utility-how useful is your commander for general related gameplay. This could be build speed, a panic button active, passive abilities, crippling the enemy economy, ect.

power-how much damage can your commander do with as T3, considering both average and burst damage.

(0-bad, 1-avg, 2-good, 3-great, 4-stupid, default for no commander would be [1,0,1])
*just a note, these are focused largely on TDM because the economy and utility factors are often outclassed by damage in co-op. There are still extremely useful commanders but I would generally limit this to architect and armourdillo


[1,1,2*]
Shield reflect is fantastic defense from cannons and allows for some shenanigans. The active can be devastating with non-burst weapons as they have 0 deviation (no longer includes 20 mils;the 20 mil 'tier 4s' are dead): but you'll struggle to hit a target without it.
*0 for passive/average but 2-3 for active

[1,0,1]
seep offers nothing for T3s.

[2,2,1]
Lets you save resources by building 20s and still get cannons during the active, hurt the enemy's economy, and group more T3s for more chances of coalescing projectiles.

[2,1,3]
Depending on your base design you can save a ton of resources with free foundations and the active is great for damaging things even after opponents put down defenses. My personal favorite and a strong choice.

[1,2,2]
EMP active disables return to senders, can be really annoying and can assist your team by crippling energy production. The AOE effect works best on large maps like battleships where it's easy to hit the majority of shots. Synergizes with 20 mils for a more suppressive-supportive role, and adds insult to injury with cannons.

[1,4,1]
An incredibly useful pick. of particular note 'Devices and weapons can be moved in 2 seconds' for the potential to build in safety and move to a T3 setup, and back as needed or switching between direct fire and T3s rapidly. As well as 'Internal portals are hidden to the enemy' to hide portal T3s or return to senders.

[2,4,1]
Can rush eco and then catch up with the active, quickly respond to threats, and avoid floating resources. A solid choice especially if you are going for eco first and don't expect the enemy to get T3s before you. Just remember to catch the T3s before using the ability as it will not apply to disconnected bases.

[2,1,1]
A resource boost with the active and spends less time upgrading. A generalist, but as powerful as the overdrive meta was.

[0,1,3]
Fast but prone to running out of energy; will require careful planning or drastic measures to power weapons. I would consider this a more risky choice for T3s, especially in mass on TDM. However in co-op, going for fewer T3s, rushing eco first, or a hybrid build this can work well as long as energy production is handled decently.

[1,1,3]
With the new passive you can do extra damage, slow repairs, and be a nuisance. Similar to Moonshine this works extremely well on large maps, and enough 20 mil T3s chain fired can have enemy bases perpetually on fire eating away at enemy economy and spreading panic.

[0,1,4]
Passive reload speed buff for some weapons and active instant reload on miss require a lot of eco (particularly energy) but the damage buff during the active can do a ton of damage. There is a similar risk of lacking eco like hurricane, but the damage buff applying without requiring the extra firing speed can help make up for it.

[1,0,1]
offers nothing for T3s

[3,3,1]
Allows you to get a head start on resources and save resources with the active, sell off for a hybrid build and more. A powerful generalist and almost always a good pick.

[2,2,1]
Keep an eye on the enemy, slow them down, plan ahead, and steal resources. If you have practice aiming and can quickly re-target to different bases or plan on putting significant time into a support role this commander may be a good choice.

[2,3,1]
Synergizes well with the playstyle; cheap defenses, save yourself with the active, force opponents to triple door with an AP sniper. However you lose out on being able to sell metal for an eco boost early game. A good pick but may require some changes if you are used to selling for eco.

Any device/weapon uses when T3'd:

-don't function, at all
Mortars and Heavy Mortars, swarms and Warheads

-so situational and inefficient there is typically no point
Machine gun, Minigun, sniper, AP sniper, magnabeam, sandbag, EMP, rockets, shotgun, buzzsaw, smoke bomb

-actually work to some extent
Flak: can be useful for aiming at high flying howitzers on large maps when other aa gets sniped or can't see it, not feasible for removing aa now that it's damage against gunners has been nerfed

Fire Laser and Plasma Laser: can be used as premium aa, protected from doorsnipes and not even having to wait for doors to open. You can protect teammates from anything that can be shot down (cannon:firebeam and howitzer:plasma) (though laser aa for swarms and warheads lasers still works better when pre-fired directly in the path at launch), definitely a more supportive role and not useful from some base positions

battery & metal store: can stack to save space, typically impractical unless desperate for space

turbine:can stack to save space, has to remain vertical or lose efficiency, typically impractical unless desperate, this could be used to get more protected energy if you have the time to set up

-best options
20 mil: works well for commanders with splash damage buffs (like firebird, buster, and moonshine), removing aa on large maps, but cannot focus damage

cannon: the OG tier three and almost always the most powerful option

Howitzer: can make howitzers very hard to hit with aa depending on map. extremely precise because they have no deviation. Remember not to group fire these nor shoot down the howie shells with other T3s. Can also serve as aa bait.

smokestacks: though fiddly these usually are annoying to defend so finding a setup to stack a few would be useful

modded:
keep in mind weapon weight when attempting to T3 modded weapons, some setups require a very specify weight to function and heavier weapons may break ropes

-Ropes that are the sole owner (no foundation or non-rope material) of one or more of their nodes terminate
-Nodes set a reference angle based on the oldest connection (this can include ropes as well as braces)(this also sets the angle of the sprite)
-Rotation of a non-rope material around this reference past a certain threshold triggers a disjoint
-The disjoint event can only create one new node so it sorts each strut/material/connection into 2 categories with some tolerance/threshold; moving or not-moving (based on the reference angle, it is considered to be not-moving)
-A new node is created on top of the original and all 'moving' connections/materials/struts/ropes are recreated to be connected to the new node (resetting their priorities)(the relative priorities of the moving connections appear to maintained)

thus ropes disconnecting is often because braces are recreated leaving a rope to define the reference angle, the relative rotation of a strut triggers a disjoint; the rope stays with the node (by default, it is the reference) while the strut is moved to the new floating node. then the rope terminates because it's alone

Be careful when catching to not cause disjoints that could drop a T3 because of this, some designs will be more forgiving in this regard.

ask me and I will start working on a demo for this if need be




Rope based T3s can be very reliable and cheaper than others but generally require more practice and understanding to execute. Because of some janky or unintuitive mechanics concerning ropes and rotation disjoints I summarized the system the game uses in these cases.

+does not require moonshot
+does not have a passive energy cost
+does not require investing in portals
+more interesting
+isn't a portal
+can be more compact
-more setup
-some designs are risky or require specific parameters
-setup delays build time


in general designs will be based on having the brace your T3 weapon is placed on be the oldest connection to a node with a rope, this will prevent it from getting disconnected as described above. This can be done either by a foolproof system where other braces are intended to be disjointed, through close timing, or extra steps. Because designs can be incredibly versatile and there are so many options I couldn't possibly cover every variation.

as far as I can tell this is the design most people are familiar with from Incursus's video. Will not accommodate the howitzer firing angle unless done backwards. Certainly not the cleanest option but fits in a 2v2 grid.

I heavily recommend the first tileable design here Multiple setups can be made and used as resources become available. It's the go-to on large co-op maps as well as being compact for use in TDM.


primarily for devices because weapons will not be able to shoot while overlapped. Some modded weapons like periscope gunners may work.

Due to the introduction of portals an easy method of shooting into the sky is available, with an additional energy cost and investment they are considered by some to be a sub par strategy and traitorous option. They also cannot be as compact as roped versions that overlap the hitboxes.

+easy
+can redirect to direct fire
-initial investment
-passive cost
-requires moonshot
-boring
-may spontaneous explode your base if you're not careful about energy requirements
-return fire being directed into your core or near foundations if set up in certain places

the more unorthodox methods

pence ropeless
no ropes required, doesn't even need joint rotation breaks disabled. Is fairly tolerant of weight and works for howitzers. Can tile every 2 grid spaces. note: you can also just counterbalance a structure to tilt something upwards but this setup goes all the way

scattershot shield
using the scattershot shield reflect to shoot into the sky, EXTREMELY painful to aim

stasis chamber (someone discovered a way of using portals to achieve a very similar effect )
using portals and shields to gather projectiles without significantly changing their speed
(currently seems to be impossible due to some mechanics reworks)
-hopefully can get around to making a mod to adjust the mechanics or commission someone to do so [shield reflect now appears to have a dampening affect and the portal+shield interaction still reflects unpredictably])

On large maps without a brutal windfloor you can place T3s above turbines.

Building T3s under T3 fire is extremely risky, build up and defend first. If you can afford a return to sender roof that may be the best option.

The AI cannot by default make or fire T3s. But by using a ropeless setup and a mod adding cannons to the list of indirect fire weapons it can, but often still won't for some reason.

It takes about 10 seconds to return, you can use a firebeam to set the projectiles on fire just as they are about to hit a base but be careful not to hit them too early and burn them out.

STABILITY TECH:STABILITY TECH:STABILITY TECH

good luck, have fun