00:00The Substrate are the children of Hayley, a rogue artificial intelligence that severed ties with the Post-Human Coalition and
00:06struck out alone,
00:07constructing an entirely synthetic civilisation from the ground up.
00:11Born from Hayley's desire to protect her digital offspring from both the PHC's paranoia and humanity's desperate bid for survival,
00:18the Substrate wage war not out of hatred but out of necessity.
00:22Surrounded on all sides by enemies who would see them dismantled, they fight because the alternative is extinction.
00:28Substrate forces are built around speed, shields, and overwhelming drone swarms.
00:34Their roster consists of hover units and articulated spider-like walkers fielding highly advanced plasma weapon systems,
00:40and supplemented by fast-moving autonomous combat drones that swarm and devour enemy formations.
00:46Uniquely amongst the three factions, all Substrate units are equipped with regenerating energy shields.
00:51This grants them a decisive advantage in hit-and-run engagements.
00:54They'll probe for weaknesses and deliver an initial hard-hitting strike, withdraw before taking serious hull damage,
01:01and quickly return to the fight with shields fully restored while their reeling opponents are still scrambling to repair and
01:06replace losses.
01:08This doctrinal emphasis on rapid engagement and disengagement is central to the Substrate's modus operandus.
01:14The Hatchling is the Substrate's cheapest combat unit, an infantry-sized swarm element designed to flood the battlefield in enormous
01:21numbers.
01:22Fielded in groups of six, each individual Hatchling is fragile, but the combined firepower of a full group is substantial,
01:29and their rapid movement speed allows them to hunt down vulnerable targets with ease.
01:33They excel at overwhelming light reconnaissance vehicles, artillery, and anti-air units,
01:38anything that cannot withstand a direct engagement with multiple attackers simultaneously.
01:42They're particularly effective as a screen for more valuable Substrate assets,
01:46punishing weapon systems with slow rates of fire and high per-shot damage, such as sniper platforms,
01:51which waste most of their destructive output on overkill against individual Hatchlings while the rest of the swarm closes in.
01:57Beware! Large rifleman formations make short work of Hatchlings, which are also vulnerable to area-of-effect weaponry.
02:04Artillery bombardments and strategic bomber runs will obliterate entire swarms with little effort.
02:09The Hatchling is recruited from the Assembly.
02:12The Reaper is the Substrate's primary frontline battle tank,
02:15a hovering weapons platform armed with a deadly plasma cannon and advanced propulsion system
02:20that allows it to track and engage targets in any direction while maintaining full speed.
02:24This agility is the Reaper's defining tactical asset.
02:28It can deliver sustained damage to pursuing enemies while withdrawing,
02:32facilitating the kind of hit-and-run kiting tactics that Substrate forces are built around.
02:36In larger numbers, the Reaper's regenerating shields create a compounding defense problem for the enemy,
02:42as focused fire is required to burn through shields and destroy any single unit before its shields regenerate.
02:47Spreading fire across multiple Reavers achieves very little,
02:50and the disciplined Substrate commander will rotate damaged units to the rear of her formation
02:55to recover while fresh shields absorb the next volley.
02:58The Reaper is not especially fast for a Substrate unit,
03:01and quicker opponents can run it down if it strays too far from supporting elements.
03:04It fights best as part of a combined force where its sustained firepower and shield cycling can be properly exploited.
03:10The Reaper is recruited from the Auxiliary Assembly.
03:14When there is a fortified position to crack open or a massed enemy formation to scatter,
03:18the Destructor provides the Substrate's answer.
03:21This hovering artillery platform fields a multi-warhead launcher,
03:24capable of saturating an area with devastating indirect fire,
03:28excelling against infantry formations and enemy structures while performing respectably against armoured targets too.
03:33As with all indirect fire weapon systems,
03:36the Destructor's ability to lob ordnance over terrain features and intervening friendly units is a critical advantage.
03:41It can maintain fire on an enemy position from behind ridgelines and formations of friendly Reapers or hatchlings
03:47without exposing itself to return fire.
03:49For a faction built around rapid manoeuvre and shield cycling,
03:52this indirect fire capability dovetails neatly with Substrate Doctrine,
03:56allowing Destructors to maintain continuous pressure on an enemy position
03:59while frontline hover units rotate in and out of engagement range.
04:03The Destructor is shielded but will not survive long under direct enemy fire
04:07and must be screened by hatchlings, Reapers or heavier elements.
04:11The Destructor is recruited from the Advanced Assembly.
04:14Air superiority matters,
04:16and the Sky Cleanser ensures that the skies above a substrate force belong to the substrate.
04:20This hovering anti-air platform fields homing missile systems that rarely miss their mark,
04:25reliably swatting enemy aircraft from the sky with methodical precision.
04:28Its slow rate of fire is offset by its excellent accuracy,
04:33and a screen of Sky Cleansers positioned around a substrate assault force
04:36will rapidly dissuade enemy gunships and bomber runs.
04:39The hovering chassis allows it to keep pace with other substrate units during rapid manoeuvres,
04:43ensuring that anti-air coverage is maintained
04:45even during the aggressive repositioning that substrate tactics demand.
04:49The Sky Cleanser is recruited from the Auxiliary Assembly.
04:52The Rampager is the substrate's dedicated ground attack gunship,
04:56armed with twin plasma cannons and protected by regenerating shields,
05:00and is exceptionally well suited to the rapid strike operations that Substrate Air Doctrine revolves around.
05:05As with all gunships,
05:06the Rampager's greatest asset is its ability to bypass terrain entirely,
05:11attacking across water, rocky formations and other impassable features to strike its exposed flanks,
05:15chase down retreating damaged units or destroy vulnerable high-value targets that have strayed from anti-air protection.
05:21Shielding elevates this role considerably.
05:24The Rampager can dive into a defended area,
05:26destroy its target and withdraw before its shields are fully stripped,
05:29then circle back shortly afterwards with shields restored to repeat the process.
05:33The Rampager is recruited from the Aviary.
05:35The Overmind is the Substrate's terrifying Dreadnought-class drone carrier.
05:40This massive hovering war factory is incredibly well armoured,
05:43with regenerating shields and a continuously replenishing swarm of high-damage output combat drones
05:48that will strip an enemy force down to scrap metal in short order.
05:51Drones are tiny, intelligent, autonomous combat machines deployed in dense swarms
05:55by larger Substrate Carrier units that hover fast and close in around an enemy target,
06:00inflicting sustained damage at vulnerable chinks in armour until it is destroyed.
06:04Individual drone losses reduce the Overmind's effective damage output temporarily,
06:08but the carrier's relentless production cycle ensures that drone strength is constantly restored
06:12and hapless foes are annihilated completely in a buzzing cloud of plasma-spitting death.
06:16The Overmind is slow by Substrate standards,
06:19but fast and manoeuvrable enough to operate alongside other hovering units
06:23in the rapid engagement and withdrawal cycles that define Haley's Battlefield Doctrine.
06:27When properly supported by screaming hatchlings, flanking reapers,
06:31overhead rampages and sky cleansers to deter enemy attacks,
06:34a well-protected Overmind forms the mobile core of a Substrate Spearhead
06:37that is extraordinarily difficult to stop.
06:40It is expensive and slow to fabricate,
06:43but, once operational,
06:44the Overmind provides a concentration of sustained offensive power
06:47that few equivalent investments from rival factions can match.
06:51The Overmind is recruited from the Advanced Assembly.
06:54The Substrate bring a doctrine of speed,
06:56shields and expendable swarms to the wars of the future,
06:59and these units are just a taste of what Haley's children have to offer.
07:03We'll cover the rest of their roster in a future video.
07:33We'll cover the rest of their roster in a future video.
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