Mareth line question

[Christolos]

I understand that fortifications have a facing, such that the Mareth line forts, shown in the image below, can have their defensive bonus added to units that are defending from an attack coming from the East but not one coming from the West.

I am in a situation against the AI where US troops are approaching from the West, so I won't be able to use the Mareth line defenses against them, right? My question is, since I can still upgrade the AA defenses of the forts, can a Unit stationed in the fort hexes benefit from the AI defenses regardless from where Air units are flying in from to attack?



Thanks,

C

[Sugar]

In Breakthrough the direction of the fortification was crucial, don't know if that's also the case in SC3; nevertheless it will provide a higher max. entrenchement lvl than without, and as you already noticed a possible upgrade.

[Christolos]

Thanks Sugar, I hadn't thought about the higher level of entrenchment capability.

Can one of the developers weigh in on whether the direction of the fortification is important? I.e., do fort hex sides have a facing? I would assume they do...

Thanks,

C

[BillRunacre]

They do have a facing but in terms of things like entrenchment and protection from air attack, i.e. with AA upgrades, they will be beneficial no matter the direction of attack.

So enjoy the benefits you can get from the Mareth Line! [:)]

[Christolos]

Thanks Bill!

Cheers,

C

[elxaime]

ORIGINAL: BillRunacre

They do have a facing but in terms of things like entrenchment and protection from air attack, i.e. with AA upgrades, they will be beneficial no matter the direction of attack.

So enjoy the benefits you can get from the Mareth Line! [:)]

Interesting. I am wondering then that, when digging fortifications, it makes sense to just have one hex side. They get constructed faster and you get the benefits of higher entrenchment and AA. The question is whether being attacked where you have no facing makes enough of a difference to really matter. Welcome thoughts or answers.

[Taxman66]

It certainly does make a difference.
I don't know the technical numbers effect but it is significantly noticeable when the fort hexside gets flanked.
Entrenchment gets eaten away rather (too) quickly in this game considering the unlimited amount of air that can be used on a hex, along with unit swapping to allow large number of land units to attack
and, of course, there is artillery as the colored sprinkles on the ice cream.

[LordOfPants]

Interesting. I am wondering then that, when digging fortifications, it makes sense to just have one hex side. They get constructed faster and you get the benefits of higher entrenchment and AA. The question is whether being attacked where you have no facing makes enough of a difference to really matter. Welcome thoughts or answers.

Building forts with one side takes as long as two sides (unless it changed in a patch), so making just one hex side doesn't actually make sense to do. If you're going to put in the effort to make a line of forts, most of them need 2 sides, and the occasional extra turn to cover a 'corner' with three sides isn't a big deal.