GLA in Generals Zero Hour: Units, Buildings and How to Play

The GLA (Global Liberation Army) is the cheapest and sneakiest faction in Generals Zero Hour. It has no power plants, destroyed buildings rebuild themselves from holes, and vehicles upgrade their weapons with enemy wreckage. Below are GLA units and buildings from the Zero Hour INI files, version 1.04, plus tips for playing the GLA on a phone.

Play style

The game describes the GLA as a side that prefers underhanded, sneaky tactics. A head-on fight with US or Chinese tanks usually goes badly for it, so the GLA wins by maneuver: a raid on supply trucks, an ambush at a tunnel, a SCUD on a cluster of vehicles.

What the army relies on:

• Tunnel Network: units enter one tunnel and exit from any other;
• Salvage: the Scorpion, Marauder and other vehicles pick up wreckage from destroyed vehicles and get weapon upgrades;
• Holes: a destroyed building leaves a GLA Hole, and a Worker rebuilds the building from it for free;
• Camouflage: Jarmen Kell, the Hijacker and camo-netted buildings.

Economy without power plants

The GLA has no power plants, and its buildings need no power. You can't shut down GLA defenses by killing reactors, because there are none. The GLA gets its radar as a Command Center upgrade.

Money is carried by Workers: 200, 3 seconds, 100 health. A Worker walks and carries little, so you put several on each supply dock. The Supply Stash costs 1500 and builds in 10 seconds, with one Worker included. Later the Black Market (2500) adds income on its own and unlocks upgrades.

Main GLA units

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

We left the Technical out of the table: in the files it is a random pick from several vehicle variants, and there is no single full set of numbers for it. The Marauder matches the US Paladin on health (500) and costs 300 less. The fastest GLA unit is the Combat Cycle: 120 game units against 30 for the US Crusader.

Key buildings

The Arms Dealer builds every GLA vehicle: the faction has no separate War Factory. A tunnel defends itself with a machine gun, 15 damage at 175. Stinger Soldiers at a Stinger Site respawn on their own: if one dies, a new one takes his place.

Strengths and weaknesses

GLA strengths:

• a cheap, fast start, with Workers built in 3 seconds;
• no dependence on power;
• tunnels let you move an army across the whole map;
• SCUDs and Jarmen Kell punish clumps of vehicles and infantry.

Weaknesses:

• no air force, only Stinger Sites, Quad Cannons and RPG Troopers against aircraft;
• light vehicles lose head-on fights to US and Chinese tanks;
• Workers carry money slowly, so losing a supply stash hurts more than on other sides.

The expansion adds three GLA generals: Dr. Thrax goes for toxins, Prince Kassad for camouflage, General Juhziz for explosives.

Matchups

Against the USA, hunt the Chinooks. The helicopter has 300 health, and a pair of Quad Cannons on the way to the supply dock leaves the American player broke. Paladins beat Marauders head-on, so meet them with RPG Troopers from around a corner or with a Hijacker.

Against China, infantry hordes and Dragons are the danger. The Toxin Tractor and a SCUD with an Anthrax warhead scatter a crowd of Red Guards, and mobility saves you from Overlords: Rocket Buggies with range 300 outrange the Overlord's cannon (175).

In a GLA mirror match, holes decide a lot. Finish off destroyed buildings completely, or a Worker will rebuild them for free.

Playing the GLA on a phone

The GLA asks for the most clicks: cycles, buggies, rebel squads, tunnels. On a phone, the group bar is what saves you:

1. Keep fast raiders (buggies, cycles) in group "1".
2. Put the main army in "2" and SCUDs separately in "3", so they never get dragged into close combat.
3. A double tap on a slot jumps the camera to that squad, so raiding and defending the base cost no time.

Workers are easiest to grab with a double tap: every Worker on screen is selected at once. To clear a group, hold its slot until it fills red. More on the controls page.

FAQ