Basics

Introduction

If you just want to get started and learn how to play the game, skip to the next section! If you are interested in some background plot/story-line to put some perspective on why you are in a world full of conflict and never-ending battles, click the link below! 

Read Introductory Plot/Story-Line
 

Overview

The basic objective of Battlecity is to destroy enemy cities while keeping your own city alive. Because each city is constantly at war with every other city on the map, teamwork is essential to survival.

Each city can hold up to four players: one mayor, and three commandos. While everyone can choose to attack or defend, the mayor alone is responsible for building and maintaining the city.

Every player sees himself and his teammates colored blue, and all enemy tanks colored red:

Battlecity gameplay can be divided into three parts: Attacking, Defending, and Mayoring/Building cities. This guide covers these three topics, and adds sections for Game Basics and General Help.

Controls

Key	Action
Arrows	Turn or drive your tank
Shift	Shoot -- requires laser item or bazooka item
Enter	Begin a chat message
U	Pick (U)p an item
D	(D)rop the item selected in your inventory
B	Drop an activated (B)omb -- requires bomb item
O	Drop the (O)rb -- requires orb item
H	Refill your (H)ealth -- requires medkit item
M	Show/hide the (M)ap
P	Display account info, including (P)oints
I	Display server (I)nfo, including nearest city
Tab	While holding Tab, use Arrow Keys to move your view

Items There are 13 types of items a city can produce. Each item has a special purpose, and a limit to how many can be in use at one time.

Items

Item	Description
Laser	Weak weapon that can be fired at any time Unlimited ammunition
Bazooka	Powerful weapon that cannot fire while moving Unlimited ammunition
Time Bomb	Explosive device that destroys everything nearby Only explodes when armed
Medkit	Restores your health to full Single use
Orb	The ultimate weapon: destroys an entire enemy city Only effective on the enemy Command Center
DFG	Temporarily disables enemy tanks that drive onto it Invisible to enemies
Mine	Detonates enemy tanks that drive onto it Invisible to enemies
Turret	Automatically fires at enemy tanks Also acts as an obstactle
Plasma Turret	Automatically fires at enemy tanks More powerful than a regular turret
Sleeper Sentry	Automatically fires at enemy tanks Invisible to enemies until approached
Wall	Acts as an obstacle Harder to destroy than any other item

Ranks

Success on the battlefield is rewarded with points. As you accumulate points, you rise in rank and command more respect on the battlefield.

The following list contains the ranks that players have discovered and unlocked so far.

Battlecity Map

The BC battlefield has 64 cities. The number of cities that are "open" for use rises as the server population grows.

For a medium-size map showing the entire battlefield in full detail, click here.
For a very large map showing the entire battlefield in full detail, click here.
 

Attacking

The goal of attacking is to "orb" the enemy city by dropping your team's orb on the enemy Command Center (CC). Doing this destroys the entire enemy city, forcing your opponents to start again from scratch.
[Picture: orb on cc]

Cities with less than 11 buildings cannot be orbed, unless they have an Orb Factory. An orb dropped on the CC of an unorbable city has no effect.

Orb Values

Orbing cities is the main The primary way of gaining points in Battlecity is by "orbing" enemy cities. (Orbing is term for dropping your city's "orb" item on the enemy Command Center-- this is explained in full later.)

The amount of points you earn from orbing an enemy city is primarily determined by that city's size.

In addition to these base point value, you earn extra points for destroying powerful cities. Each city has a "bounty" value that starts at 0 and increases by 5 points each time that city orbs an enemy.

In other words, if you orb a large city that had not successfully attacked anyone, you will earn the base 50 points. But if that city had claimed 10 cities as victims, you will earn the base 50 plus 50 more as bounty, for a total of 100 points. (You can check the total point value of a city, including Bounty, by right clicking one of its buildings.)

You also earn 2 points for each enemy tank your team kills, and lose 2 points each time you die.

Bombing

Bombing buildings is the most common activity for attackers, since it is often the only way to reach an enemy CC.

Bombing a city's Houses and Researches disrupts item production and money flow. While this can weaken a city over time, it is generally not an effective strategy on its own.

Bombing a city's Factories, however, can immediately devestate the city. This is because destroying a factory destroys all items that factory produced. The loss of a turret factory can cripple a city's defenses, while the loss of a bomb factory can halt its attack.

Since bombs destroy every building touched by the explosion, it is possible to destroy multiple buildings with a single bomb. Making the most of your bombs is key to being an effective attacker.

[Picture: bomb next to two buildings]

Coming soon:
(armed bombs, timer)

Destroying Turrets

Destroying enemy turrets is an important part of any attack. The key to destroying them is that their range is the same as the range of your bazooka.

To destroy turrets with your bazooka, aim at the turret while sitting just outside its firing range. (This may be easier if you use Tab to shift the screen toward the turret.) Then, drive forward into the turret's range, stop to fire, then immediately back up. Your bazooka will hit the turret, and by backing up you will avoid the turret fire. Repeat this 3-5 times until the turret is dead.

Here is a demonstration of this technique:

IMAGE HERE

Coming soon:
(Placing a bomb before shooting turrets?)

Using DFGs

Coming soon:
(How to use DFGs on offense.)

Defending

Defending Basics

The goal of defending is to prevent enemies from placing their Orb on your city's Command Center. The most important part of defending is shooting enemy bombs so they don't destroy your buildings and items. It is also important to shoot enemy tanks, and to replace defensive items as they are destroyed.

Defensive Items

Coming soon!

Building/Mayoring

Building	Description
Command Center	Spawns tanks Vulnerable to orb
House	Allows two other builds to function
Research	Allows a specific item's factory to be built Allows that factory to continue producing its item
Factory	Creates a specific item Allows that item to remain on the map
Hospital	Refills the health of any tank

Building Basics

Coming soon!

Money Management

Coming soon!

City Design

For screenshots of many different city designs you can use, check out all of the designs which have been submitted to the City Design Competition.

Click Here to View Designs

Flash Tutorial

Many of the basics of city building are illustrated in this 2 minute flash tutorial:

Click Here to Start Flash Tutorial

Help

Installation

Coming soon!

Troubleshooting

Coming soon!

Skins

Coming soon!

Strategy and Help Guide created by Vindkast and Weebo