How to play Rusviet in Iron Harvest

Iron Harvest is an alternate history RTS game where World War One adopts a more diesel-punk culture. Players get to command hulking mechs that rips soldiers apart, limb by limb. Four factions await the guiding the hands of the player, one of which is Russia’s stand-in, Rusviet. Rusviet’s mech range is adorned with mechs effective at ripping armour and melting and rendering flesh. Here is how to play as Rusviet in Iron Harvest.

How to play as Rusviet in Iron Harvest

Their roster of destruction

Rusviet’s infantry, the Vanguards, are very powerful close-range, however they will most likely get defeated by the other infantry’s range and fire rate, making the Vanguards more of an offensive infantry than defencive. However, don’t let this fool you into charging straight into battle.

Naturally, your opponent will have mechs, so you’d better reinforce your units with mechs, too. Rusviet’s mechs aren’t exactly like the others for the most part. One of the most unique mechs is the Ognivo, which has two flame-throwers on each arm. This may sound incredibly powerful, however other mechs and a lot of infantry can topple this mech. This is the same situation for most of Rusviet’s mechs.

For the most part, your mechs must be supported by infantry, else they will get destroyed. The lack of an accurate and reliable artillery unit and absence of a cheap and effective infantry killer boils Rusviet’s mechs down to being mainly focused of killing other mechs, paving the way for your infantry to charge the enemy.

The Kolokols will be the mech you produce the most. In numbers, you will have a force that can blast away infantry and can penetrate the armour of mechs and buildings. Your Kolokols will allow your infantry to not get trounced by enemy mechs and will protect points of interest and can support surges forwards.

However, they are also fragile, so you will need infantry and engineer support so they don’t get destroyed too early.

For the late game, Rusviet has some incredibly powerful mechs, such as the Guyray-Gorod, which one of the most powerful mechs in the game. It comes at an extreme cost, however.

Best strategies for Rusviet

Playing Rusviet means that everything is so expensive. You will need to throw all three units out to secure resource points and defend them. Upgrade an iron mine and oil rig as soon as you can, using the vanguards to chase off any enemies. Do not allow your enemies to use their range against your Vanguards.

It may be useful to enlist an engineer or two to simply run out and capture points from your enemy and to keep harassing them. You will need the time to gather resources to build your barracks and workshop.

Related:How to play Saxony in Iron Harvest

In the early game, the Kolokols and grenadiers or Vanguards will be your best bet. Simply defend your points whilst the engineers run rampant. Don’t send your Kolokols off on their own. Keep defending, building up your army. When you have a decent amount of soldiers, you can think about diversifying your mechs to serve different purposes. But only when they will be supported by your existing Kolokols and infantry.

The enemy will most definitely push hard against you with infantry-slaying and/or powerful mechs. All you can do is make sure your Kolokols target the enemy mechs whilst getting repairs by engineers.

As soon as you upgrade your mech, and optionally your barracks, and have access to more powerful mech-killers and infantry can you make your push. Rusviet’s forces are too vulnerable in the early game, so you have to be frugal with resources to acquire the means to build a truly threatening force.

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