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Set in the far future of the CrossFire game, players can either choose to side with advancement-seeking New Horizon, mercenary troupe Global Risk, or the renegades within Black List to eliminate their foes. With the sci-fi RTS blending deck-building with fast-paced skirmishes against foes, just how should players start their CrossFire: Legion journey?
8 Check Out Their RTS Counterparts
While one of the more popular criticisms towards CrossFire: Legion is its similarities with other classic RTS games such as StarCraft, it may help newcomers get a better grasp of Legion on the get-go if they try comparing each faction with other notable factions of similar games. That way, players can apply similar approaches when deciding what teams to focus on. Here are some basic similarities:
Terrans, Allies - Global Risk: Similar to the specialized Terrans of StarCraft and the Allies of Red Alert , the Global Risk faction relies on units that work well to handle various situations. Zerg - Black List: An interesting faction that relies on speed and ambushing foes is the Black List team, which is akin to the Zerg of StarCraft . They compensate for their lack of specialized skills with sheer mobility, being able to navigate past tricky defenses. Protoss, Brotherhood of Nod - New Horizon: The third faction in CrossFire: Legion packs a lot of durability and power behind their units. This is akin to the Protoss of StarCraft or the Brotherhood of Nod of Command & Conquer , factions that both rely on expensive yet extremely specialized units.
7 Consider Basic Playstyles Of Each Faction
One of the best ways that any RTS player can get into CrossFire: Legion is to understand the basic playstyles of each available faction.
Global Risk: Players with a preference to tinker with various playstyles and tackle problems head-on with specialized units may want to try this faction out. Aside from specializing in long-ranged incursions, specific skills of these units can help solve rather complex battle situations. Black List: Players who prefer a fast and loose faction may want to give the Black List a shot. What they lack in terms of unit specialization is easily compensated with mobility, as the faction boasts speedy units capable of navigating past enemy defenses and securing the kill before they even get to react. New Horizon: Players who want to consider a faction that prefers things slow and sweet, then New Horizon is something up their alley, similar to the Protoss of StarCraft . While they’re expensive to build and slow in nature, they’re more than capable of tanking hits even with a harsh enemy offense. Players capable of taking their time and invest in their development can rely on New Horizon to defeat any enemy approach.
6 Get Global Risk For Unit Flexibility, Balance
Being the default “good” faction in CrossFire: Legion, Global Risk is an ideal choice for both balanced and flexible units. Its units and vehicles come relatively cheap and have versatile components, useful for default incursions in whatever setting players find themselves in. Moreover, the specialization as per their eventual upgrades make Global Risk a great way to slowly understand mechanics such as development speed and adjusting to combat situations, similar to the beginner-friendly Terrans of StarCraft.
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However, players do need to understand the risk of upgrade dependency in regard to Global Risk, as the “basic” nature of their units could be disadvantageous when facing more complex approaches from the other factions. Thankfully, Commander Abilities such as Rally’s heals and firing boost as well as Fire At Wil’s artillery barrage provide players with extra flexibility options when in dangerous situations.
5 Try Black List For Quick Incursions
Despite being branded as the “bad guys,” the Black List is simply a faction currently dissatisfied with the current status quo. Armed with cheap units and mobile fighters, the Black List faction excels in ambushes and surprise attacks, making this an excellent choice for players who love overwhelming foes with numbers. Of course, this does mean mediocre durability is always something newcomers should be wary of.
This reliance on fast-paced attacks also reflect in the faction’s Commander Abilities, with Ghost Core providing passive healing to nearby units, and Ghost Recall being able to teleport units to the Ghost Core and include stealth. Their hit-and-run, speed-based strategy is similar to how Zergs function in StarCraft
4 Grab New Horizon For Extended Survivability
A third faction in an RTS is often unique, as a lot of times “speedy aggressive but weak versus slow but durable” prevails when it comes to faction differences. In the case of Cross Fire: Legion, the New Horizon faction evidently have slow units but makes up for it with durability, support, and general utility. Players who want to outlast foes despite numbers and firepowers can start grasping the game’s more complex mechanics with this faction.
Not to mention, Commander Abilities available for New Horizon do give extended defenses to units. For instance, Null Field gives damage mitigation to allies, while Radiation Zone actively damages foes inside them.
3 Study Enemy Approaches In Matches
While it’s true that players won’t necessarily win the first few times, this doesn’t mean they can’t take away anything from their experience. When fighting players using any faction, it helps for players to take notes about common strategies that arise in specific situations - especially in regard to map placement in relation to the faction used.
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Doing this allows players to spot common patterns with ideal first units, especially with the current meta. For instance, Vampires from New Horizon are ideal starters primarily for their built-in lifesteal, meaning they’re good as both early-game protectors or rushers. Players need to take note of these patterns in order to anticipate them in future matches.
2 Consider The Rush
Considering how CrossFire: Legion is a real-time strategy title, a traditional strategy such as StarCraft could become a great basis for basic combat approaches. Part of this is the rush strategy, popularized by StarCraft’s Zerg Rush wherein a player overwhelms another party by attacking headfirst early on with cheap units.
Such a strategy could be done with CrossFire: Legion as well, considering how all factions have base units much cheaper to produce. When combined with the right strategies - say, using Black List Bulldogs with the Ghost Core Commander Ability - players can easily win matches, provided enemies don’t have adequate defenses against them. A good counter here is preparing a few combat units beforehand while gathering resources just to ensure there’s enough time to block a preemptive assault.
1 Develop Combos To Maximize Time
Given enough time, players would likely grasp the basic mechanics of unit management in CrossFire: Legion, similar to other RTS titles, but this is where time becomes the enemy. Against more experienced enemies, players may not have enough time to set up the proper buildings and prepare the right units before tackling in a rush, or enemies may have developed far more than players within the same timeframe.
The key here is for players to see what kind of combos they can do with their building strategies during the beginning parts of a match. Given their map position and their chosen faction, players should develop “default approaches” to avoid losing out when it comes to the time it takes to prepare both a formidable offense and defense. For instance, New Horizon units work well on the defensive, so it makes sense for players to bolster their defensive position while developing their base.
CrossFire: Legion is available on PC.
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