Units are the forces the player and AI call upon to fight each other with in Iron Harvest. They range from average human infantry with small arms to colossal super-heavy mechs that walk through buildings like they are made of paper. All units have a task they excel at as well as weaknesses.
They have three main types: Infantry, Mechs, and Heroes.
Infantry
These are unarmored or less armored units trained in a Barracks structure, and higher-tier units require the upgraded Advanced Barracks. They can capture objectives like resource structures and strategic points.
Standard Infantry
These footsoldiers are cheap and squishy, but quick to produce, versatile, quick on their feet, and can capture objectives. They can also switch out their weapons for kits found on the battlefield, allowing them to pick up grenades on top of their standard arms for extra firepower or hide behind cover to decrease the amount of damage taken. In combat, they can really only deal with other standard infantry and rely on greater numbers and positioning to gain an advantage.
Their downside is being largely unable to deal with even light mech units, but they can outrun nearly every mech in existence if they need to avoid a fight. Can also garrison buildings.
Specialized infantry
These infantry are generally slower but are very effective at their given tasks. Machine gunners can suppress and lay waste to infantry; they take time to set up but are powerful if put in bunkers or behind cover. Flamethrowers can damage units regardless of cover but suffer from poor range. Anti-armor gunners wielding small cannons bring much-needed anti-mech firepower, but are slow and fire slowly. Medics and engineers are weak in combat but can heal troops and build base structures as well as repair mechs and buildings. Can also garrison buildings.
Each faction has a specialized infantry unit they can produce in the Barracks but requires dropped weapon kits to acquire others; eg, Polania can train machine-gunners but not medics or flamethrowers.
Exosuits
These advanced infantry units wear mechanical exoskeletons, possessing varying types of armor and firepower that make them stronger than regular infantry. They are the most expensive units produced in the Advanced Barracks, and can be healed either by medics or engineers. They cannot garrison buildings, but they can still capture points and resources. They also can walk through barbed wire, unlike footsoldiers.
Mechs
These are mechanical armored units produced in a Workshop structure, and higher-tier units require the upgraded Advanced Workshop.
Light Mechs
These are generally the faster and most affordable mechs but have less armor. Some can work as scouts, anti-infantry units, while others still function as fire support. They generally excel against infantry and some other light mechs, but vulnerable to medium mechs and anti-mech infantry. These units can break through small amounts of cover.
Medium Mechs
Quite versatile, these units cost more but can take more of a beating than light mechs while being more affordable and faster than heavies. Generally excel against light mechs and some infantry, but vulnerable to heavy mechs. They can walk through light cover and smaller buildings.
Heavy Mechs/Mega Mechs
The biggest and most expensive mech units, plastered in thick armor and often carrying the heaviest weapons. They excel against just about everything but are slow and vulnerable to artillery. These units breeze right through brick and stone buildings with ease, and their weapons often evaporate any cover the enemy may be using. Mega mechs are the heaviest of this category..
Artillery
These mech units are specialized in long-ranged fire for use against static defenses or larger groups of enemies. Their weapons are very powerful against all unit types, but they have minimum ranges where they cannot engage enemies who are too close as well as limited cones of fire.
Heroes
Heroes are unique units with powerful abilities. In Skirmishes and multiplayer, each player can only have one hero unit which they choose beforehand. Each faction has three to choose from, and they are produced in the Headquarters structure.
Infantry Heroes
These hero units are mostly unarmored, but generally fast and great scouts. They each come with an animal companion to augment their abilities. They range from a sniper with healing abilities or a cavalry unit to a stealthy saboteur or an anti-armor hand-cannoneer.
Mech Heroes
These armored units are quite potent in terms of firepower and can take more of a beating but are generally slower. They range from an exosuit cyborg to a mammoth titan with broadside cannons.
Weapon Systems
These machines feature deployable firepower that can turn the tide of battle. They are slow to move and require careful positioning, as they have limited fields of fire. All factions share the same designs but use their own infantry crews. They can be abandoned by their crews; an infantry squad can crew them if one is found on the the battlefield.
Field Cannons
These direct-fire cannons punch right through even heavy mech armor at long range but fire slowly and struggle against infantry.
Heavy Machine Guns
These automatic weapons can suppress and cut down infantry with decent power against light mechs, but hopeless against better armor.
Mortars
Artillery piece with long range, large area-of-effect, ignore line of sight by shooting up and over obstacles, and are good against infantry or most armor. However, the projectile takes a moment to land, reloads slowly, and has a dead zone in front of the unit.
Factions
Polania's units are generally lighter, faster, and cheaper than others, but lack armor. Excel in hit-and-run attacks and kiting.
Rusviet forces are aggressive, tougher than Polanian units but faster than Saxony ones: in close combat, it is almost impossible to stop them.
Saxonian units have versatile firepower and strong armor, but are expensive and fairly slow.
This mysterious faction owned by Tesla has by far the most advanced technology and versatile units, but they are very fragile and expensive. Not yet playable.
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