General Alexander is the US superweapon general in Zero Hour. Her strength is base defense and a cheap Particle Cannon that costs 2500 instead of 5000. In return she has no tanks, and her vehicles cost more than in the regular US army. The numbers below come from the Zero Hour INI files, version 1.04.
Who is Alexander
Her full name is Alexis Alexander. She is a four-star general, 42, and according to her bio card she serves in the US Marines. Her base is Camp Franklin in Belfast, Maine.
The card names her tactics bluntly: weapons of mass destruction. She builds heavy base defenses and buys time until the superweapon is ready. When she loses, she complains that one more superweapon would have won it and dares you to a rematch.
How Alexander's army differs from the USA
Her features as listed on the general card: the Aurora Alpha, the EMP Patriot System, Advanced Control Rods for reactors, cheaper Particle Cannons, more expensive vehicles and no tanks.
Compared using the Zero Hour 1.04 files:
| Unit or building | Alexander | Regular USA | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Particle Cannon | 2500 | 5000 | half price |
| EMP Patriot System | 900, ground 15 / 275, air 30 / 400 | Patriot: 1000, 30 / 225, 25 / 350 | longer range and cheaper, shots disable vehicles |
| Aurora Alpha | 2000, Fuel Air Bomb 400 / 300 | Aurora: 2500, bomb 400 / 300 | −500, bomb with a larger blast area |
| Cold Fusion Reactor | 900 | 800 | +100 |
| Comanche | 1800 | 1500 | +300 |
| Tomahawk | 1400 | 1200 | +200 |
| Humvee | 850 | 700 | +150 |
| Sentry Drone | 1000 | 800 | +200 |
| Colonel Burton | 1200 | 1500 | −300 |
| Crusader and Paladin | none | 900 and 1100 | no tanks |
The EMP Patriot does half the regular ground damage, but its missiles temporarily knock out vehicles, and its ground range grows from 225 to 275. Each battery is also 100 cheaper, so ten of them cost the same as nine regular Patriots.
Strengths
- A 2500 Particle Cannon comes online earlier than for any other US general.
- EMP Patriots stop tank pushes before they reach the base.
- The Aurora Alpha is cheaper than the regular bomber and covers a wide area.
- Burton is 300 cheaper, so sabotage runs into the enemy base cost less.
Weaknesses
- No Crusader or Paladin. Her ground army is Humvees, Tomahawks, Avengers and Microwave Tanks, and all of them cost more than in the regular US army.
- A weak early game: the first minutes are held by defenses, not by an army.
- Against fast GLA raids on the economy, base defenses don't help: there's nothing to guard supply docks out on the map.
Other US generals: Granger with cheap aircraft and Townes with laser tanks. The faction's base numbers are on the USA units page.
Playing Alexander on a phone
Alexander plays from defense, which makes her one of the calmer strategies on a phone:
- Place Patriots on the approaches to your base and keep a Construction Dozer in group "0". A tap on an empty slot saves it.
- Put a small strike force of Humvees and Comanches in "1" and aircraft in "2".
- Aim the Particle Cannon with a tap on the target. If you change your mind, a long press of about 0.6 seconds cancels the selection.
Hold your finger on a UI button to read its tooltip without pressing it, a handy way to check prices against the table above. The full gesture list is on the controls page.
FAQ
Does General Alexander have tanks?
No. Her general card says "No tanks" directly. Crusader and Paladin objects with her prefix still exist in the files, but they are not in her War Factory menu.
How is the EMP Patriot different from the regular one?
In the 1.04 files it costs 900 instead of 1000 and reaches farther (275 against ground, 400 against air), but deals less damage. The main point is the EMP effect, which temporarily disables vehicles.
How much does Alexander's Particle Cannon cost?
2500, half of what the regular USA and the other US generals pay. Build time is the same, 60 seconds.
Is Alexander a good pick for online games from a phone?
Every general is available in skirmish and online. For network setup on Android see the multiplayer page.
All Zero Hour generals are collected in the wiki, and the app itself is described on the Zero Hour for Android page. Download the app and get 24 hours free in the bot @generals_mobile_bot.