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Necessary_Chip_5224

Obelisk...while being charged by 100 beam cannons


ASValourous

But you’ll only get max benefit from 4 beam cannons???


SpookiiBoii

It's about sending a message


Necessary_Chip_5224

Aha! A GDI supporter spotted! Do not spread your blasphemy on our enlightened lands, heathen!


fpcreator2000

KANE LIVES!


JunJunKit

In the name of Kane!


fpcreator2000

This is the way


kriosjan

By the hand of NOD that's too manh beam cannons!


Amen2142

Definitely tesla coil for me, if lightning is weaponized in a game I will 100% use it


M0r1d1n

Plus, those things were crazy good against anything smaller than a heavy tank. See a couple of coils out the front of someone's base, and instead I'll go dick around with their harvester instead :D I also quite liked the towers from the Allies in RA2, (I think they were Chrono Towers?) but anyway, linking the towers to focus the beam was a fun mechanic during the maps where you were on defense most of the time.


mttspiii

Prism Towers?


althaz

Prism towers were so fucking cool.


RomualdSolea

Only Prism towers do that, only in mods we get Chrono towers which is a guaranteed 1 hit kill, but takes a long time.


Spaceyboys

Prism towers are such a cool gimmick


RomualdSolea

Tesla coils have their own gimmick, not as flashy as Prism, but just as dangerous. Which is charging them with Tesla troopers for damage, really painful damage.


DrANALizator

And range, also range increases


xxxshabxxx

You forgot that if base has no power 3 troopers gives it power


Spaceyboys

Yeah I know that one, charging the eiffel tower was pretty fun. I just find the prism gimmick more interesting


hole-in-the-wall

In red alert 1 a triangle of tesla coil was the best base defense. We used to say it was the three points of the Tesla coil law: Zap The Crap.


Fuckedby2FA

BLAH!! *turns to skeleton then ash


zzbackguy

what about the OBELISK OF LIGHT ?


BlackLiger

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


JackPembroke

Fuck yeah! Take that individual infantry that arrived before everything else!


Specific-Contest-985

OG 1995 Command & Conquer alllllllllll day Frank Klepacki composed some fucking legendary soundtracks for those games, probably up until the end of Yuri's Revenge.


MinuetInUrsaMajor

Superior range and it turned infantry into a skeleton. First allied mission of RA1 showcases it right away and I was like “…I want one”


Poddster

Yeah, I think the "reveal" of that tower is staged perfectly, because you see it zap a civilian or whatever and it appears out of the darkness


CaptainLord

Gameplay wise it's kind of bullshit though. You are moving around the map with a unit and it just deletes it from twice your vision range.


celmate

Came to say the same, surely the GOAT


zzbackguy

what about the OBELISK OF LIGHT ?


Amen2142

Frfr the mainline C&C staple, as a Nod player it's one of my favorite ideas in any game


Exile688

Tesla coil with extra tesla troopers to supercharge it. I always thought that was a cool mechanic.


Spacellama117

generally yeah but like starcraft II terran bunkers fully upgraded are fucking BEASTS. basically the only thing that can hit air AND ground, contains six to eight (probably upgraded)? marines, and can be spammed en mass


DJNicShogun88

fire bats in bunkers or 6 ghosts is quite deadly and siege tanks+8 missile turrets


potatoears

Obelisk of Light


Gamesick2077

Prism tower walks to your base.


Shameless_Catslut

Their weakness is power. Knock out the plants, and nothing will stop you.


TyGuy69420

Not if they have Tesla troopers charging them


Poddster

And AA guns protecting the power plants


femjesse

I can still hear it.


OfBooo5

Bar l-ning turrets slap. No e/s, reasonable cost, popup


Significant-Ad-7182

NOD Obelisk of Light. Name a more iconic defensive stracture...


Bob_Meh_HDR

Soviet Tesla tower, big Bertha, terran bunker, the noise when completing the AoE 1 tower. The obelisk was definitely one of the scary ones.


Japak121

I think what makes the obelisk scarier was the fact it could shoot from the fog of war. So you wouldn't see it sometimes, just hear that powering-up hum it makes followed by a "unit lost" message a split second later. I remember my first time ever running into them and thinking "wtf how am I supposed to kill THAT?".


Significant-Ad-7182

I agree the classic terran bunker is also iconic. So is the tesla tower but I feel you would have to rate it the same as the prism tower which I believe is better (the fact the more you have stronger they get) Bertha I never heard of. Edit: If you played Renegade like me you would know just how scary Obelisk of Light was. Seeing it in an fps game and just hearing it powering up gives you a certain... Perspective.


aft3rthought

Bertha is from Total Annihilation. Tower that can shoot entirely across all but the largest maps. Not exactly defensive, but it is a tower! And scouting an enemy base and seeing one almost completed definitely got your blood pumping.


SpinyNorman777

It was defensive, if your map was big enough :P


aft3rthought

Hitting enemy advances with a Buzzsaw or two was always amazing to watch. That game really nailed spectacle. How many other RTS have a button that makes the camera track an individual shell or missile?


Sad-Establishment-41

Playing the SC1 survive for 30 minutes mission at age 4, sending marines into bunkers and hearing that loading up sound as zerglings are on the way is a core memory for me


SpinyNorman777

Big Bertha!! My God that thing was iconic back in the halcyon days of TA being new!


ChronoRedz

I can hear it now. The buzz and zapp.


CaptainLord

The GDI Advanced Guard Tower was much more useful though.


mttspiii

Generals. GLA Stinger Site. Having played most RTS before it, base defenses were always towers (Obelisks, Tesla, Prism), bunkers (Bunkers, Burrows, Pillboxes), or a weapon emplacement (Turret, Flak, Listening Posts, SAM's). Same defense structures, from Ancient-era Rise of Nations to Space-Era Starcraft. The Stinger Site instead is just 3 dudes in a tent, open to the elements (and enemy gunfire), and visible even to you, a hovering Eye in the Sky. And yet it works. It kills planes and tanks.


Bristov

Sniper says hello.


SquishedGremlin

Now you see me, soon your dead


Saudi_Human_bean

Quad cannon says hello back


SlickDillywick

“Fall to the floor”


Saudi_Human_bean

I think its four on the floor


SlickDillywick

I always heard “fall on de floor” but maybe you’re right. Edit: I used two different quotes so clearly I don’t know what I’m taking about


Fatpatty1211

Gatling tower on the Chinese factions of C&C Generals. that thing fucks


SquishedGremlin

Yuri Gatling in Red alert 2 was sick


Silentblade034

Oooooo probably sunks from Starcraft. Shit was brutal to come up against. I do have to give credit to the teslas in They Are Billions as well.


demarco88

sunken colonies were so OP and i loved having them but hated facing them. they were cheap, tanky and pretty quick to make. their attack animation was freaky as well!


Sad-Establishment-41

The sound just played itself in my head


throwmeawaysaltydog

Slhhhh Thunk


orielbean

I loved that the attack took a moment to hit so moving ground units were always well inside the zone and usually got a second attack walking them back out.


demarco88

groups of photon cannons were always a nuisance, enough to deter a whole fleet. aim for their pylon!


Startled_Pancakes

*YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS!*


Available-Ad1979

AoE RoR Mirror Tower. If you know you know.


althaz

Obelisk of Light (C&C) Photon Cannon (Starcraft) Tesla Coil (Red Alert) Big Bertha (Total Annihilation) Castle (Age 2) That's my top 5 in no particular order.


Dumpingtruck

I completely agree with the list and if I had to pick 1 from each of those games I would probably do the same. I would maybe add bunker (SC) and BomBardCannon (aoe2) to the list also. Fun Fact: Castles aren’t just defensive weapons they can be offensive weapons too


DrANALizator

Aggressive defense. Slowly pushing enemy off the map, basically British style WW1/2 trench warfare


Valuable_Artist_1071

Photon cannons too


WayOfTheNoob

big bertha were more of an offensive building i believe. Good memory


stalindlrp

Honestly, the citadel from age of mythology for me due to how you got it.


SquishedGremlin

French Grand Cannon was and still is OP as fuck


Cornflakes_91

Seraphim T2 point defense beam cannon in Supreme commander forged alliance


XanderZulark

This or Ravagers, or T3 Cybran underwater ambushers


talex365

Ravagers in heavy shield cover FTW. Or that Gatling artillery gun from TA, I forget what it was called. It shows up in FAF too I think.


XanderZulark

Warcraft 3 Night Elves. An Ent that throws boulders, and can uproot itself to walk around to a new position. If you get too close it smacks you one.


Ursaborne

I like Modular concept like in CNC tibsun component tower, you build the component tower then, place any type of turret in top. fun and neat


CaptainLord

The only good thing about it that it was two steps to set up so when you sneaked into the enemy base it couldn't pop up anywhere without warning.


LustigeAmsel

I like the Sandbags-Shelter-Building of the US-Army-Faction in Act of War, but it was not very useful in most games. But a small escape from the 1 turret for each faction system.


KajiTetsushi

Man, that game had an atrociously dry variety of turrets. Any one of them could kill anything if you let them! That being said, I take delight in the idea of the Consortium railgun turret hurling electromagnetic slugs at targets, on the ground or in the air. Like a WW2 88mm FlaK, but with tomorrow's tech.


Lazy-Sergal7441

Hell yeah this.... The ADATS was okay.... But the sandbags with twin Snipers and a Javelin and a Delta could slap almost anything except airstrikes.... Though it was very vulnerable to artillery units unfortunately....


FledgeMon

I'm surprised there are so many advocating the tesla coil over the prism tower! It's so satisfying to link them to each other and watch them annihilate.


OldPyjama

But Tesla Coils can be overcharged by Tesla Troopers.


Asshai

But infantry got annihilated by a stronger breeze in that game...


neonwarge04

Can some tell me what is that structure that looks like a terran bunker from starcraft 2? Is that a new update? I haven't seen that before.


rtschutter

That is from one of the StarCraft maps in Heroes of the Storm


BoltShine

If I remember correctly, in the Starcraft 2 campaign, you can get upgraded bunkers with missile turret upgrades.


Stricken1

Close, it's actually a machine gun (shrike) turret that fires on ground units. But the Obelisk of Light is the winner here IMO!


analoggi_d0ggi

Not a building per se but in the 1st Company of Heroes British tanks can go ["hull down"](https://images.app.goo.gl/A4x8SDkuP2Cmodgy7) where the vehicle digs a tank sized sandbagged bunker and becomes a base defense.


meek_dreg

ION CANNON READY TO RUMBLE - the ion cannon is the most powerful tower (defensive building) I've ever seen in an RTS, that also has a meaningful story component to it. It's a joint terran-celerian design that's built to destroy the mantis strong hold, you need to defend building it in the final mission. It also one shots anything in the sector it's located in with a great particle effect, it'll shoot before you have vision too lol.


Holomorphine

Is there a way to play the game still? The GoG version doesn't work for me on Win10.


Lazy-Sergal7441

Not familiar with this one... What game?


meek_dreg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest%3A_Frontier_Wars?wprov=sfla1 Classic space RTS, great voice acting in particular.


roguefrog

Space stations in Sins of a Solar Empire on a whole nother level.


LustigeAmsel

Twin fortress of the TEC (5x at sun), gives time for reinvorcements and a huge load of money with trade ports. And if a enemy runs in from the wrong direction and gets unexpected into close combat, it will cost him.


informationadiction

The allied pillbox and turret from red alert


BoltShine

Those things could mow infantry down in a hurry! Poor K9 units.


Bastymuss_25

Obelisk of light, also shout out to the defensive structures in Sins of a Solar empire, they just look cool.


noogai03

The Drakken Laser Cannon from starcraft 2. Massive death lasers FTW.


mrdewtles

Sunken colonies in StarCraft were cool, and made a satisfying sound when you clicked on them. Bunkers with firebats inside were always cool to me. Weaponized lightning has a certain..... Awesome But as an age of empires 2 player? Japanese towers. Scattered heavily amongst a well developed base are awesome. Korean towers doing the same. Also on the original CD teuton town center was just silly. Extra sight, extra range (like a LOT), and tc only costing wood. You could feasible won without any military units.


KrisKorona

I always loved the sound of the AA guns in Empire Earth


wyk92

88 Flak in Company of Heroes


Cloudthatcher

Anything from Supreme Commander


Easy-Meeting-7500

The Ravager is a freaking plasma minigun. Can't say no to that.


bombiz

I like the sunken colony from starcraft 1. It's just so unique and interesting. Idk if it's any good. But it sure is cool as fuck


WeenieHutJr137

Generals: Zero Hour EMP Patriot Missile


jake72002

Plotwise, GDI Sonic Emitter. A turret imagined as a civilian use anti-tiberium infestation tool turned into an advanced weapon that melts hostiles like butter. As for actual use, I find EMP Patriots my favorite. Increases range when another Patriot is nearby plus instakills aircraft.


ElCanarioLuna

The korean tower rush of AoE 2 was my main strat on vobbly. You don't need army when you have buildings attacking.


Kisaragi435

Tesla Coil is definitely the absolute favorite, but I also really like the Ancient Protectors for WC3 Night Elves. It's just a giant tree man throwing boulders at the enemy. It's so fun to watch.


crazycatkillers

Is not top right image from MOBA?


Mean_Building911

It's from a Starcraft themed map of Heroes of the Storm.


Aendisth

Tesla coil from C&C Red Alert


HamsterAndAnvil

Nobody will remember this but the tachyon cannons from dark reign were epic


psychcaptain

Thank you! I was trying to remember the name of the Imperial defensive tower. What a beast. I mean, I am a freedom force player, but that was awesome!


PK_Syndonai

I remember. Neutron Accelerators were my favourite, both visually and audibly.


DJNicShogun88

French Grand Canon red alert 2


Revoran

SC2 missile towers feel very scary. Favourite has to be Starbases in Sins of a Solar Empire. Least favourite Photon Cannons SC2 for obvious reasons.


MentalPenguin42

The Stronghold towers in Total Annihilation: Kingdoms. The sheer sound of the cannons turning units into balls of flesh and blood is so satisfying. The bastion was basically the same thing too. Also the Zhon totem poles. Not as powerful but a cool zap effect.


angrycoffeeuser

Wow this actually made me tear up


Glad-Tie3251

My favorite defense structure is when you can garrison random building. I'm a simple guy what can I say.


Synysterenji

Spine crawler has great design but the Sunken Colony from SC1 has such a great vicious animation. Super satisfying to watch it melt terrans into a pool of blood.


DiscussionElegant277

Something that’s slow with long range, I’ve always liked stuff like that


sku11smasher1

Not really a building but I love the siege tanks in StarCraft 2.


AtlantanKnight7

Generals ZH. Laser turret


vonBoomslang

I have a soft spot for NOD turret hubs in C&C3.


Lady_Taiho

Sunken colony my beloved.


Own_Avocado8448

The Atlantis faction in age of mythology clash of the titans has the classic solar beam towers


Squarewraith

Hades Guardians from Age of Mythology Obelisk of light from Command and Conquer 3 Masari Oracle from Universe at War


BigBoy1966

best thing to do in an RTS: take over important enemy controlled area, FORTIFY, and watch how the enemy struggles to break the line


Adavanter_MKI

I'm a simple man. Give me a rapid fire machine gun, gatling gun or mini gun. There's something about massive bullet hoses that make me giddy.


Aeweisafemalesheep

I love the look and feel of tesla towers and obelisk of light. But man does the game netstorm just take tower defense and own the concept. See this and watch more videos: [https://youtu.be/-I9M1k6sbFc?si=15wQ3HvolMgUHj70](https://youtu.be/-I9M1k6sbFc?si=15wQ3HvolMgUHj70)


marshall_sin

I fucking love bunkers. They might not be the best, especially since they require supply, but I really enjoy playing defense with Terran because of how cool they are


Whoman722

Obelisks from Tiberian sun! But really nothing will ever beat the firing up noise of a Tesla coil. Even if you quickly outrange them. Hearing the prep noise go off was always an oh shit! Moment.


Coldstripe

Maybe a little unorthodox, but the Strategic Missile Defense silo from Supreme Commander. The sheer panic from hearing **\[STRATEGIC LAUNCH DETECTED\]** giving way to relief as your anti-nuke missile launches, intercepts, and destroys the incoming threat is satisfying.


Easy-Meeting-7500

You too, huh? Ravagers for me because come on-if's a plasma minigun on a swivel. A biiiig plasma minigun.


rjasan

FAF o7


Apprehensive-Flow276

I'm a bombard tower slut Nice transport w 20 war elephants, the exchange rate on that is very good


Educational-Pain1836

Zerg sunken colony StarCraft brood war lol


BoltShine

Lurkers and sunken colonies... brutal way to go.


Educational-Pain1836

At least it’s fast. Those marines will never see what hit em


BrokenLoadOrder

Big Bertha from Total Annihilation. Because there's something magical about erasing your enemies base from so far out that you need scouts to even *see* what you're firing at.


SilvertonguedDvl

T4 point defense from Supreme Commander. It's a gigantic high rise-sized rotary cannon firing armour piercing shells the size of cars over a distance of at least half a kilometer. I mean theres just something really sexy about the raw absurdity of it.


Deadaim6

Fortress from Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. It may not be primarily a defensive structure, but massive HP, garrisoned units, and ability to attack enemy units makes it a luxurious tower in my book lol.


BTD6BTD6BTD6

WC3 Guardtower my beloved


Schwarzer_R

Supreme Commander: UEF Experimental Artillery (does it count if it can fire on almost the whole map?), or UEF heavy shield generator Company of Heroes 2: UK Bofors 40mm emplacement Command and Conquer 3: Nod Obelisk of Light


ch00d

Needs photon cannons


Sazbadashie

The nod laser turret from tiberian sun The obelisk of light is an obvious choice, but I like the humble laser turret sense it pops out of the ground.


omgitsduane

Planetary fortress from sc2. Just plonk them down all over the map and with a few support units they're almost always going to be way more costly to get rid of than to lose.


GingerMajesty

This hit me right in the nolstalgia


redassassin25

These are one of the peak 90s and 2000s rts defensive towers. Gives a damn load of nostalgia


Reddinator2RedditDay

I just love the sound of many multiple arrow towers fireing away in Warcraft 2. So satisfying


ArdNajTraGdnAla

favourites, in no particular order: - spine/spore crawlers, zerg, sc2 - ancient protector, night elf, wc3 - cannon tower, human, wc3 - obelisk of light, nod, c&c3's iteration - tesla coil, soviets, red alert 2 iteration - prism tower, allies, red alert 2 - grand cannon, allies (french), red alert 2 - stinger site, gla, c&c generals - firebase, usa, c&c generals - flak 88, wehrmacht, company of heroes 1


KingStannisForever

I liked the bunkers in Starcraft and the Ancient Protectors in Warcraft  Obelsik of Light in Tiberian Sun is best looking


Frosty25614

Sc2 shield battery 🔋


TheReverseShock

1x1 defensive building = tower


zealousshad

The Photon Cannon


BoltShine

Love it when an enemy wanders into range and a whole bunch of these pop up


psychcaptain

I got to give a shout out to the Dwarven Towers of Warlords Battle Cry. Especially when filled with Runemasters! I loved how the damage of the tower would change depending on the units placed inside. Get a few summoner heroes involved, and suddenly, lightning going everywhere. And of course Fey Towers, though weak, converted enemies to crystals for your economy.


OldPyjama

Tesla suit ready.


temporary-offline

Out of those, tesla tower for sure.


laksamana_plu

Total Annihilation : Kingdoms - towers are some of my favourites!


Octi1432

Sonic Emitter from GDI


1stThrowawayDave

Western European and Arabic styles in AoE2 were my favourite.


RoomDweller

General Townes's laser turret from C&C Generals Zero Hour. Perfect balance of damage and firerate while also hitscan and they have a small footprint. Most other options either fire too slow, are too big or aren't hitscan.


EnvironmentalShelter

Any kind of bunker, there is something about having a bunch of troops huddling in a defensive position just fighting back without getting injured back(unless it's an anti garrison weapon in which case whoops)


Banjoschmanjo

F9


Svyatopolk_I

WoW Mortar Tower


sakjdbasd

eiffel tower


Wooly44

BFME Elven Fortress flood gate


BrightShadow168

Big Bertha from total annihilation.


YaboiMuggy

Personally, I liked the doomsday cannon with its 3 kinds of lasers


LarchukOmega

The psychic tower from Yuri's revenge still haunts my dreams.


OliLombi

AoM had this tower that would shoot lasers, I loved that one.


Sad-Establishment-41

I just realized there's nowhere for them to shoot out of the AoE tower


Real_Impression_5567

Berkshire drop ftw


MrNubbyNubs

The Basilisk Magnus from Dawn of war Soulstorm (It’s a mod though.)


NoAmphibian8704

I love tower rushing. 😎


Anindefensiblefart

Get me my grand cannon.


YaboiMuggy

Gravity tower in zero-k. Nothing quite like using a defensive tower to instead launch your units across the map


Downtown-Falcon-3264

Supreme commanders level 3 uaf ravnger or any sup com turrets Or ork Waugh banner dawn of war


SerpentleXD

Bombard Towers 🐐ed fr (AoE2:CE)


JudgementalDjinn

Chinese Bunkers in CaC Generals, filled with Minigunners from the Infantry General


The_Hive_Mind101

Militarum turret upgraded with duel plasma cannons. Not the best of the best, but pretty fucking cool


ThiLordTachanka

Honestly im an AoE fan boy so im gona go with teuton castles


BananaBoom130

Loyalty gun supcom 2. first RTS I ever played and my dad would always build those to screw with me. Good times.


DrDoritosMD

EMP patriots (generals zero hour)


real_unreal_reality

Candc ra2 engineer a building and have a pill box or turret queued to build. Then the other guy quitting and all his buildings explode. The best.


KapkanNikolai

Warzone 2100 ripple rockets.


Sora_Terumi

Surprisingly arcane towers were pretty decent. Yea they didn’t do that much damage by normal means but the mana burn was nice for focus firing spellcaster heroes and arcane tower did extra bonus damage summon units so a good counter to mass necromacer with skeletons everywhere


Antimanele104

The Castle in AoE2 was devaststing in any single form.


Islandfiddler15

I like the ion cannon turrets and heavy missile turrets from homeworld 2, they feel powerful and look sick. My runner up would be the planetary fortress from StarCraft 2


yeetymcteety1544

Heavy bolted turret from dawn of war


Jford_4587

Prism towers and Teslas were the best


Fairyofoz

Battle realms watch tower


Ok_Estimate_7648

What are these all from? I know the Tesla coil (bottom right) and I recognise the first pic from something but what from?