Tank and Artillery Guide

If you want to break enemy defenses instead of grinding them down at close range, tanks and artillery are the tools that change the fight. They solve different problems—one lets you survive and push through hostile territory, the other lets you hit spawners and worms from far beyond normal defenses—and this guide walks you through what to unlock, how to build the ammo and machines, and how to use them without getting overrun.

Unlock the right combat tech in the right order

Start with the Tank if you need a tougher assault vehicle. It is the earlier stepping stone, and it is gated behind Automobilism, military 3, and Explosives, with a cost in Automation science pack, Logistic science pack, Chemical science pack, and Military science pack. That makes it a practical upgrade once you already have chemical production and a steady combat science line.

Only move into Artillery after that. Artillery requires military 4, Tank, Concrete, and Radar, and it costs Automation science pack, Logistic science pack, Chemical science pack, Military science pack, and Utility science pack. That dependency matters: don’t plan around artillery first, because the technology itself assumes you already have tank tech and more advanced science infrastructure.

Use the tank to start breaking nests and clearing your path. Then, once your base can support heavier offense, pivot into artillery for long-range shelling and territory control.

Set up the shells and vehicle production before you deploy

Before you send anything to the front, build the production chain that keeps it alive. Tanks are simple compared to artillery, but both systems punish poor resupply. Artillery shells stack to size 1, so you cannot treat them like bulk ammo. If you do, you will run dry at the worst possible moment.

Here is the core crafting reference you should have in view while you build your supply lines:

Treat artillery as a supply problem as much as a combat one. For tanks, keep enough Engine unit, Steel plate, Iron gear wheel, and Advanced circuit production flowing. For artillery, remember that one Artillery shell consumes four Explosive cannon shell and one Radar, so the shell line is really a layered production chain. Build it before you deploy the first turret or wagon.

Also plan for buffer size. A Artillery turret stores 15 shells, while an Artillery wagon stores 100 shells. That is useful, but the small stack size means inserters are still moving shells one at a time. If you want sustained operations, set up nearby assembly or supply so you are not hand-feeding every shot.

Build the Tank for pushing through enemy fire

Use the Tank when you need to assault nests, clear defenses, or survive incoming fire while still fighting back. It has a large health pool and mounts the cannon, one of the most powerful weapons available to the player. That makes it especially good against worms, because it can absorb the heavy damage from their projectiles far better than lighter vehicles.

Do not drive the Tank like a car with extra armor. It is slower, less responsive, and worse at dodging melee enemies or cliffs. Instead, treat it as a mobile assault platform. Bring support tools with you: grenades, poison capsules, follower robots, repair packs, and personal laser defense all work while you are inside the Tank. If you have a personal roboport, construction robots can still come out and repair it. After researching logistic system, the Tank can even make requests through the logistic network, which is worth using so you do not have to manually restock every run.

The cannon is strongest when you use its line and piercing behavior deliberately. Standard cannon shells are best for heavy single targets, while explosive cannon shells are better when enemies bunch together. If you are advancing into a nest, do not rely on the Tank alone to survive everything. Use its durability to stay in the fight, then let capsules, robots, and cannon fire do the rest.

One more caution: the Tank can drive through and destroy trees without taking damage, but it can also damage structures simply by ramming into them. That is useful when you are clearing a path and dangerous when you are near your own base. Slow down before you return home.

Use artillery where range matters more than direct contact

Artillery is not a brawler; it is a demolition tool. Artillery turrets fire explosive shells at extreme range and do not require electricity. That alone makes them ideal for perimeter pressure, remote clearing, and softening enemy territory before you move in.

Use automatic mode when you want artillery to prune enemy structures inside its scan range. Automatic mode only targets spawners and worms. It will not target moving biters or spitters, so do not expect it to clean up a roaming attack wave for you. Its default maximum range is 224 tiles, and it also has a minimum firing range of 32 tiles, so it cannot solve close-in defense.

Use manual mode when you want to hit distant bases or unexplored territory. Manual targeting reaches 560 tiles by default, and shells reveal any chunks they pass through. That means artillery is not just a weapon; it is also a scouting tool for breaking open fogged areas. The Artillery targeting remote also shows how many loaded, fire-ready artillery pieces are in range of the cursor, which helps you avoid wasting clicks on empty emplacements.

Artillery shelling provokes a large enemy response centered on the impact site, so never fire it from an undefended position and assume the map will stay quiet. If you are using artillery, protect the firing site with walls, gun turrets, laser turrets, flamethrower turrets, or direct player intervention. Artillery is strongest when it is part of a defended logistics network, not when it stands alone.

Keep your artillery alive and your offense supplied

If you are using Artillery wagons, remember the train rules. An artillery wagon will fire automatically only when it is stopped; it will not fire while moving or while stopped at a red signal. If you want automatic firing, stop at a train stop, not at a red signal. You can also fire artillery wagons manually with an Artillery targeting remote.

This matters because artillery wagons are heavy for train acceleration. Use strong fuel, and if you have it, nuclear fuel is especially effective. The wagons also benefit from research: artillery damage, firing speed, and range all improve through technology. Infinite firing-speed research increases firing rate by +100% per level and applies to both artillery turrets and wagons. Range research increases both automatic and manual range by +30% of base range per level. If you are serious about artillery, invest in those upgrades together instead of stopping after the first unlock.

Do not forget the bottlenecks. Artillery shells stack to size 1, the Artillery turret holds 15 shells, and the Artillery wagon holds 100 shells. That makes wagons the most space-efficient rail transport for artillery shells, but they are still not mass-efficient in the train itself. Build your shell supply so the wagons arrive loaded, defend the firing position, and then keep the line fed. If you do that, artillery becomes one of the safest ways to strip enemy territory before you commit your Tank to the final push.