Homeworld 3 has a steep learning curve and getting started with this game won’t be as easy as you may have imagined. Luckily for you, I spilled plenty of blood, tears, and sweat learning the game inside and out so you don’t make the same mistakes as I did.
Unlike other games in the RTS genre, Homeworld 3 tries hard to introduce you to all the mechanics and help you stand on your own two feet. If you’re like me and you’ve never played an RTS before, you’ll struggle to remember everything the game’s trying to teach you. But I’m here to help you find your way in Homeworld 3 with a couple of handy beginner tips and tricks.
5 tips to get you started with Homeworld 3
Start with tutorial
No matter how experienced you might be in the Homeworld franchise or RTS in general, you should start your Homeworld 3 journey with the tutorial. The tutorial is a handful, but it will teach you the basic mechanics, show you keybinds, and give you a safe space to practice it all. I’m not ashamed to admit I spent over an hour in the tutorial, but I learned a lot. I learned how to move and heal units, how to gather resources and why it matters, and the basics of movement.
If you forget what to do, listen to Isaac (Intel)
One of the most amazing features Homeworld 3 has to offer is Isaac, or Intel as you might know him. Essentially, he’s your guide through this huge game, and whenever you get lost in your keybinds or you’re not sure how to complete the mission, he’ll chip in and give you helpful advice. I often didn’t know how to execute a specific task and ended up staring at my screen, trying to figure it out. Then, Isaac jumped in to give me additional info on how to finish the mission and what I should do next. On top of all this, he’s quite vocal, and he’ll keep reminding you what you need to do.
Gather resources all the time
As soon as you learn the basics of Homeworld 3, you’ll realize that resources are invaluable. They’re used to both build and research new and existing units, and you should always have at least some stocked up. This RTS has little to no downtime between missions and you’ll just have to develop a habit of sending your Resource Controllers for more resources each time you get an opportunity. And yes, you should send them to grab more resources during combat.
Besides that, you’ll burn through units in no time, and you definitely don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you only have a couple of Interceptors during the encounter. So, keep on gathering resources and building new units.
Use Tactical Pause
Trust me, Tactical Pause is there for a good reason. You can use it to slow down the game and carefully plan your next moves. At times, Homeworld 3 can get very fast and overwhelming because of everything happening on your screen. Tactical Pause is a great way to take a step back, assess the situation, and then react. Remember, this is a strategic game, so you should play it like one.
Don’t sleep on missions
Homeworld 3 offers multiplayer, and I presume many players will rush to experience everything this game has to offer. But the main campaign is quite unique, and each mission is different from the previous one. You won’t find the same, repeatable quests in the main campaign of Homeworld 3. On top of this, the story of the main campaign is easy to follow, and it will charm you. Even though it ties in nicely with the previous stories from the franchise, you won’t struggle to keep up with the main events.
