How to make money in Red Alert 2

HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN RED ALERT 2

So you want to know how to make money in Red Alert 2?  You’ve come to the right post! Just to make things clear. This is not a post on how to get money by cheating.

We’ll be going over a few tips on how to make money in the game and how to avoid the dreaded: “insufficient funds” message.

Now, are you ready? Let us jump right in. You can watch the YouTube Video or Read the tips bellow the video!

Tip Number 1

The first tip on how to make money in Red Alert 2 is “know the map!” Especially where the ore and the gems are! It’s important to know where the ore patches are so you can plan your build in advance. In a perfect world you’d know where every ore and gem patch is, on every map. But for starters learn the maps you play the most or use the map preview on the loading screen to plan ahead when you don’t know the map.

PRO TIP: Knowing the maps helps in other areas of your game-play too. You can predict where the opponent will build. You also know points of interest around the map like choke points, tech buildings and so on.

Tip Number 2

In the previous tip I said you need to plan your build in advance. What does that mean? When you know which ore patch you’re going to be mining from first, you place down buildings towards that ore patch. That way you can place down the refinery as close as possible to that ore. We call that base-walking.

The closer you place that refinery to the ore patch the less your miners have to travel. The less the miners travel, the faster your money flows in. And don’t do that just for the first ore patch. Plan your base ahead so you reach the second patch before you run out of ore on the first.

Tip Number 3

So now we have an ore refinery next to the ore and one miner mining and we’re all set. Wrong. One miner isn’t enough to keep you from running out of money. You need to build at least one more miner out of the war factory. But depending on the map, your tactic, or the opponent you may want to change that.

What I usually do, and a lot of other players have similar tactics, is to build 1-2 miners from the war factory and build an extra refinery which I then sell. So before I start building any tanks I have 3-4 miners mining ore. Now you may need to change that a bit if your opponent is rushing you, if the map has gems near your base, if it’s a specific map where other tactics are better or if you want to rush your opponent.

Now when we have or miners hard at work, we need to protect them! Losing just one miner can tip the balance of the game in your opponents’ favor. Losing a miner means you need to spend money to build a new one and while you wait you obviously don’t get any income from that miner that you lost.

Tip Number 4

I mentioned gems in the last tip. Gems are worth two times as much money as normal ore. So whenever you can, go after the gems first! Let me repeat that. Whenever you can. Go after the gems first. Don’t go after them if they’re half way across the map. But when they’re close to your starting position or next to a tech building you can capture, mining those first should be a no brainer.

Whenever you see someone mining ore, when they have gems nearby, you can reasonably assume they’re a new player.

Tip Number 5

Tech Oil Derricks. They provide a steady income over the whole game so the sooner you capture them, the more money you’ll get. The player that first captures an oil derrick also gets 1000 credits. That means you get back your money for the engineer you’ve used to capture it and an extra 500 credits. You can also place buildings next to the oil derricks. So you can use them to more effectively base walk to the next ore or gem patch. Just be careful because they explode when destroyed and can take your building with them.

These are few essential tips and when you get a hang of them money shouldn’t be an issue for you anymore. But I’ve also prepared a few bonus tips.

Bonus tip 1

Don’t build static base defenses in early game. A lot of times I see people building sentry guns and anti-air before they even have one miner on the battlefield. This is a waste of money you don’t have. Build up your economy first and then move on to other things. If I suspect he might rush me I often build a sentry gun or a pillbox, but I don’t place it down. That way if I run of of credits or he doesn’t rush, I can cancel the building and get my money back.

Bonus tip 2

If you’re allied you can try and spy your opponent. This is particularly effective when playing against the AI as it has a lot more money than you do. Yeah Red Alert A.I. cheats. What’s new.

Bonus tip 3

Some custom maps have their own set of rules. So if you’re unfamiliar with a map don’t be afraid to ask if the map is modded. On some maps you can place your own oil derricks. On some maps power plants or even soviet bunkers can provide money. Some maps are sell for cash maps. That means that if you sell something you get an insane amount of money. Again this only applies to custom maps.

I hope these tips on how to make money in Red Alert 2 were helpful to you and I’ll see you on the battlefield commander!