Every map has two kinds of fixed build spots. Holding them is what the map fight is about: tech points decide where a team can spawn and tech up, resource nodes decide how much it earns.
 Tech point |  Resource node | |
|---|---|---|
| Marines build | Command Station (15 team res) | Extractor (10 team res) |
| Aliens build | Hive (40 team res) | Harvester (8 team res) |
| Gives | A spawn point, research, a commander chair; for aliens biomass and eggs | 1 team res every 6 s plus personal res for every player (Resources) |
| Needs | – | Extractor: room power. Harvester: infestation |
| One per spot | yes | yes |
Tech points#
- Each team starts on one tech point. The map decides which tech points can be a marine or alien start; the map pages mark them.
- Every other tech point is an expansion: a second hive (more biomass, a backup spawn, a new hive type) or a forward Command Station.
- A team loses when its last Command Station or Hive dies, so an extra one on another tech point is also insurance.
- Marines often put a Command Station on a free tech point just to deny the aliens a hive there.
Resource nodes#
- Every extractor or harvester pays the same, so income is simply how many nodes you hold. The ink economy is a good example of how fast that adds up.
- The start rooms have a node next to the tech point; the rest are spread over the map. Count the nodes near each base on the map pages: that is the early game economy.
- Killing enemy towers is the most direct way to win the long game. There are cheaper ways too: a dead power node stops an extractor, and a cut cyst chain leaves a harvester off infestation, slowly dying.
See also#
Resources · Maps · Command Station · Hive · Extractor · Harvester