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The Subfactions

There are three subfactions for each army in Zero Hour, and I'll tell you what extras or different weapons they use compared to the main vanilla factions.

USA Super Weapon

Pros: Buffed Patriot Missile launcher dubbed EMP Patriot. Aurora Alpha drops more powerful Fuel Air Bomb. Particle Cannon half priced and fires a pink beam. Advanced Control Rods give power plants 300% power instead of 200%. Leaflet Drop at rank 3 instead of 5.

Cons: No Crusader or Paladin. Vehicles are more expensive.

USA Laser

Pros: Laser Crusader is more powerful than standard Crusader. Avengers are cheaper. Laser Turret is the most powerful defense in-game. Advanced Cold Fusion Reactors give 7 power instead of 5.

Cons: No Paladin Tank. Laser Crusaders require power to function and use 1 unit of power each. No Tomahawks.

USA Air Force

Pros: Carpet Bomb. King Raptors have 6 missiles and are tougher than normal Raptors. All aircraft have Point Defense Lasers. Comanches can be upgraded to stealth. Airfields are cheaper.

Cons: No Crusader or Paladin.

China Tank

Pros: Elite Battlemaster General Power at Rank 1. All tanks are Veteran. Emperor Overlord replaces Overlord. Tank Drop Generals Power.

Cons: Aircraft and infantry are more expensive.

China Nuke

Pros: Advanced Nuclear Reactor gives an extra 8 power. Battlemaster and Overlord start with Nuclear tanks and Uranium shells upgrade. Nuke MiGs and Nuclear Bombs on Helix. Nuke Cannons available on start. Nuke Silo 500 bucks cheaper. Nuclear Carper Bomber.

Cons: Battlemaster tanks create a huge explosion that damages allied units nearby until upgraded with Isotope Stability. No napalm MiGs or Napalm Bomb for Helix.

China Infantry

Pros: Elite Minigunner General Power at Rank 1. Minigunner far more effective than red guard, but trained one at a time. All infantry are cheaper and barracks are cheaper. All infantry are Veteran. Assault variants of Troop Crawler, Listening Outpost, and Helix. Fortified Bunker. Minigunner paradrop general powers. Super Hackers are stealth and Super Lotus hacks buildings faster. Patriotism upgrade increases Horde Bonus another 25%

Cons: No Battlemaster or Overlord. Helix can't be upgraded with Speaker Tower or Gattling Cannon add-ons, but bunker holds 8 instead of 5.

GLA Demolition

Pros: High Explosive RPG, Scorpion missile, SCUD missiles, etc. Terrorist does more damage and is cheaper. All infantry and vehicles can detonate when destroyed or run over when upgraded. Advanced Demo Trap. Bomb Truck is cheaper.

Cons: No Toxin upgrades of any kind. No stealth infantry save Jarmen Kell.

GLA Toxin

Pros: Toxin RPG, Stinger missile, etc. do more damage. Toxin shells available on tanks from start. Toxin rebel is lethal against all infantry. Toxin terrorist does less damage but detonates in toxin cloud. Anthrax Gamma upgrade increases toxin damage another 25%.

Cons: No Demo upgrades of any kind. No stealth infantry save Jarmen Kell.

GLA Stealth

Pros: All buildings can be camo netted. Rebels start with Camouflage upgrade. GPS scrambler available from Rank 3 instead of 5 and recharges 2 minutes faster.

Cons: No Scorpion, Marauder, or SCUD launcher.