The first minutes in the order they happen. The timings are not invented — they come from matches actually played.
Minute 0: power and ore
Your starting funds cover exactly the opening: one power plant, two refineries, one build hub. Not more, and that is deliberate. Every finished refinery brings a free harvester — so it is not only a drop-off point but the cheapest route to more output. Without power nothing works properly: on a deficit everything slows down rather than simply failing.
What a typical opening looks like
These timings are the median across matches from 66 players against the AI — not a recipe, an observation. One thing stands out: until about minute 6 the treasury is nearly empty because everything is reinvested at once. Only then does the economy carry and the stock rises steeply. Building military early pushes exactly that point back. The measurement predates unit research. Both the order and the time to a first combat unit still hold — the base unit of every production building is free. What got longer is the step after: the second, specialised unit costs an unlock first.
| Step | When (median) |
|---|---|
| Build hub as third building | ≈ 2,2 min |
| Radar | ≈ 5,5 min |
| First combat unit | ≈ 6,0 min |
| Tech center | ≈ 12,5 min |
What new players most often miss
Four things that appear nowhere on screen and still decide every match. First: the harvester counter in the top bar shows idle ones in brackets — one click jumps to the next. Second: capturing and repairing is the combat engineer's job, not a button. Third: a level 1 unit hits far worse than the same one at level 8; experience is not decoration. And fourth: if your last command center falls, no replacement is granted — only an MCV you built yourself beforehand and still have in the field brings you back into the match.