Nod, Continued

Vehicles: One of the biggest weaknesses of Nod is its early lack of decent anti-vehicle units and vehicles. While they have rocket soldiers, their basic early vehicles aren't capable of dealing much damage to opposing vehicles. The Scorpion tank is really their only option here, but it's going to be fairly weak in the face of opposing Predators, at least until it's upgraded with laser capacitors. Stealth tanks are likewise a bit too lightly armored for their own good. Don’t neglect to build buggies, though; they're cheap and fast and can be moved around to deal with infantry or planes that assault you.

Avatar flooding will overrun many an enemy encampment.

Avatars are an interesting unit that serve as the superunit for the Nod. It can assimilate technology from other nearby Nod vehicles, allowing it to use their weapons to supplement its own, but this destroys the unit that you steal from. You can add multiple pieces of technology to a single Avatar, conceivably pushing the aggregate cost of it up over 5,000 bucks, but in general it's probably better not to put your eggs in one basket and simply keep the units separated, unless you have a way of quickly repairing the Avatar when it's damaged.

Aerial Units: Nod gets to use both Venom Patrol Craft and Vertigo bombers here. The Venom craft are unique in CNC3 in that they're completely detached from the air tower that spawns them; the normal scout/fighter craft for the GDI and Scrin have to return to base to be repaired, and can only be built in limited numbers, but a single air tower can pump out as many Venoms as it likes, and can do so cheaply. Venoms are great for dealing with enemy infantry, especially when they're upgraded with laser capacitors, and in sufficient numbers can wreak havoc on enemy vehicles as well, or shoot down incoming Firehawks or light Scrin fighters. They're very weak, however, and will be shot down after just a few rockets shots, and can't be told to automatically return to an air tower to be repaired.

The Vertigo is the best bomber in the game (assuming you don't consider any of the Scrin vehicles to be "bombers" as such). It's more expensive than the Firehawk, but has the advantage of stealth and the bonus of concentrating all its firepower in one bomb, thus reducing the amount of time it takes to reload and also making it easier for them to find new targets and run if their target is destroyed before they reach it. They're very tough to kill unless they run into a large patch of turrets or get pursued by enemy fighter planes.

Structures: The Nod turrets are among the best in the game. They're not overwhelmingly powerful, but their construction makes it difficult to take them out. The earlier turrets will have one central pod from which three smaller turrets are distributed. Killing the smaller turrets will prevent them from firing, but the central pod will eventually reconstruct them automatically. Destroying the central pod will eliminate the turrets, but still, they're a pretty efficient system, especially since a lot of AI opponents will fire on the turrets first, allowing you to react before they manage to dish out the hurt to the central pod.

Obelisks of Light are powerful but slow-firing defensive structures that can be set up to chew through incoming vehicles. They can also fire on infantry but are inefficient at taking them out, even if they do suppress them almost instantly. They can't fire at aerial units, however. Note that Beam Cannon vehicles can be positioned behind Obelisks and supercharge them with their beam weapons, which reportedly increases their range and damage, but these additions are apparently somewhat marginal.

Scrin

The deadly Scrin invaders are the cause of the Tiberium infestation on Earth, and have come to reap their bounty. They're played a bit differently than the other factions, and so will require a bit of practice to get used to.

If the GDI focuses on powerful but slow units, and Nod focuses on units that are quick and stealthy, the Scrin could arguably be said to be the best faction for attacking at range and using trickery to achieve their aims. Their aerial units, especially the fearsome Destroyer, can attack from well away from their targets, while their Mastermind units can warp other units around the battlefield and steal enemy units and bases. It's complicated, but in the right hands, it can work wonders.

Note that the Scrin don't require tiberium silos, and can apparently harvest as much tiberium as they like without worrying about a cap.

Infantry: Scrin infantry are somewhat unique and difficult to get a handle on, but the buzzer infantry units can be interesting, since they can attach themselves to vehicles and hop rides on them, essentially. Shock Troopers can arguably become the best infantry unit in the game, especially when fully upgraded.

Vehicles: The usual assortment of vehicles for your playing enjoyment here, with some minor differences when compared to other races. The devourer tank has an excellent range for its beam weapon, and the Scrin harvester unit will automatically repair itself while working in tiberium fields, thus making them less likely to be destroyed by a sneak attack. They will also cause an ion storm to pop up when they're destroyed, which will automatically attack opposing units for a minute or so.

The Tripod, the Scrin superunit, can fire multiple small lasers at nearby vehicles or structures for heavy damage. It can even fire at multiple targets independently if attacked from multiple directions, but only deals good damage if it's concentrating its fire on a single target. It can be upgraded with a weak shield at the Technology Assembler, which can boost its abilities to act as a defensive bulwark when guarding your base.

Seeing this many Scrin warships coming their way will cause any sane enemy to 'brown their pants' in the game's delightful terminology.

Aerial Units: The Scrin shines when it comes to aerial combat. While their baseline storm rider unit isn't terrifically impressive, the Devastator Warship and the Planetary Assault Carrier are pretty badass. The Devastator can fire plasma discs over long ranges, which are best used against enemy structures, but they can still rip up enemy infantry. In numbers, Devastators can completely destroy enemy forces that aren't prepared for aircraft to be coming their way, especially when they're upgraded with shields.

Planetary Assault Carriers are expensive, but worthwhile. They launch with a large number of smaller fighters that can target enemy planes or ground units. When shot down, these fighters will eventually grow back inside the Carrier, but if the Carrier is destroyed, all of the smaller planes go down as well. The smaller planes are great for distracting enemy units while your Devastators approach.

Structures: Storm Towers are perhaps the most impressive all-purpose defensive structure in the game, capable of hitting infantry, vehicles, and planes with powerful blasts of lightning. The growth accelerator, which speeds up the growth of tiberium in tiberium fields, will undoubtedly make a difference for players that prefer turtling, or in lengthy games.