Zero Hour China Units, Buildings and How to Play

Zero Hour China units win through mass and armor. Tanks are cheaper than American ones, infantry fights in numbers, and fire and radiation burn down anything that stands packed together. Below are China's units and buildings from the Zero Hour INI files, version 1.04, with strengths, weaknesses and tips for playing on a phone.

Play style

The game sums up China as fire and overwhelming numbers. That gives you the faction's main move: build a large group of Battlemasters with infantry and roll forward before the enemy has time to set up.

What the army leans on:

• Horde: infantry and Battlemasters get a rate-of-fire bonus when they stand in a group;
• Propaganda: the Speaker Tower, and the Propaganda Tower upgrade on the Overlord, heal nearby units and speed up their fire;
• Hackers: placed in the Internet Center, they earn money for the whole match;
• Nuclear Missile: a nuclear strike that leaves radiation behind.

Economy and power

Money is hauled by the Supply Truck: 600, 10 seconds, 300 health. It is cheaper and tougher than the US Chinook, but slower. Later the Hackers join in: put them in the Internet Center (2500) and they bring in a small but steady income.

Power comes from the Nuclear Reactor: 1000 and 10 seconds, 1500 health. You can Overcharge it for extra power, but the reactor takes damage while doing so. A destroyed reactor explodes and hits everything around it, so don't build it right next to your War Factory.

Main China units

Source: Zero Hour 1.04 files. Damage per shot, range in game units.

The Overlord is the toughest tank in the game: 1100 health, more than two US Paladins put together. But its speed is 20 game units against the Battlemaster's 25, and without an upgrade it has no defense against aircraft.

Key buildings

The Gattling Cannon fires at ground targets at range 225 and at air targets at 400, which makes it one of the best anti-air defenses of any faction. China's Supply Center is 500 cheaper than the American one.

Strengths and weaknesses

What China does well:

• cheap armor: a Battlemaster costs 800 and absorbs 400 damage;
• fire and radiation against infantry and tight groups;
• solid base anti-air from the first minutes;
• an upgraded Overlord covers several roles at once.

Where China struggles:

• heavy vehicles are slow and easy to catch with aircraft and rocket infantry;
• its own air force is weak: MiGs with 160 health die fast over enemy anti-air;
• outside a group the Horde bonus disappears, and a lone Chinese unit loses to an enemy unit of the same price.

Each Chinese general takes one side of the faction to the limit: Kwai goes all-in on tanks, Tao on radiation and nuclear shells, Fai on infantry.

Matchups

Against the USA, aircraft are the main threat. Keep Gattling Tanks in every armor group and cover your base with Gattling Cannons, which reach 400 against air. A Comanche with 220 health doesn't last long under that fire.

Against GLA, fire works. Dragons and Inferno Cannons burn through Rebels and Workers, and Battlemasters with 400 health shrug off Scorpions, whose cannon hits for 20. Watch the tunnels: a GLA army can come out of any of them behind your lines.

In a China mirror match the economy decides. Hackers in the Internet Center add extra money, and whoever puts them to work first gets Overlords out first.

Playing China on a phone

China's army is large, so the group bar on the left is your main tool. A layout that works well with fingers:

1. Battlemasters and Overlords in group "1", infantry in "2", anti-air and Gattling Tanks in "3".
2. A double tap on a unit selects every unit of that type on screen: a quick way to grab all your Dragons without drawing a box.
3. A double tap on a group slot jumps the camera to that group. It replaces edge scrolling, which is turned off in ZeroFront.

A horde is easiest to steer with a box: press, drag around the squad, tap the map. If you grabbed too much, a long press of about 0.6 seconds or a two-finger tap clears the selection. The rest of the gestures are on the touch controls page.

FAQ