Surviving the early hours of Iron Tide Command

Iron Tide Command throws a lot at you upfront, and it's easy to spread yourself too thin. My first two settlements collapsed because I tried to build everything at once instead of picking a focus.

The lesson: pick one resource to prioritize early and let the others trail. A steady supply of your core resource gives you room to react when a wave hits harder than expected. Chasing every upgrade at once just leaves you weak everywhere.

Defense placement is the other early-game trap. I lined my walls up in neat rows like a tidy person, which is exactly wrong. Choke points and overlapping coverage matter far more than symmetry.

Once I stopped playing pretty and started playing efficient, the game opened up. It rewards planning, and the satisfaction of watching a defense you designed hold against a wave you barely survived last time is genuinely great.