History VideoGame / RiseOfTheReds

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[[folder:General Tropes]]

* OneSteveLimit: Every unit and most structures in this GameMod have a unique name to avoid confusion when talking about any given element. [[SubvertedTrope Subversions]] are only for elements that are virtually identical in function across factions, and even then it's not that often (for example Command Centers, Dozers etc).

* StrawmanNewsMedia: Subverted, depending on the side.

* UnitedNationsIsASuperpower: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] to hell and back. The UN has been rendered obsolete by trade blocs and superpowers, lacks any kind of even nominal power and has been reduced to ''a curiosity in New York''.
* UselessUsefulStealth: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. Unlike in the original game, base defenses can no longer auto-detect stealth units, necessitating the use of dedicated detector units to reveal hidden enemies which makes them a lot more useable.

* WhereAreTheyNow: Occasionally thrown in for the Generals of the original game, most of them not getting very kind fates. [[EnergyWeapon Townes]] [[FaceHeelTurn mutinied]] against the closure of his laser projects and was arrested by one of his own men, Granger was demoted after taking the fall for the atrocious performance of the Aurora Bomber, [[TankGoodness Kwai]] and [[NukeEm Tao]] went into retirement with Tao still being alive to comment on (and justify) the [[NuclearOption European nuclear attacks]] in 2048. [[BonusBoss Leang]] was seemingly discharged after an [[NoodleIncident 'excessive public scandal']] and her unit was taken over by Mau. [[DeadlyGas Dr.]] [[MadScientist Thrax]] was presumably killed in the original campaign, [[UselessUsefulStealth Prince Kassad]] betrayed the GLA again and got personally executed by Sulaymaan and [[MadBomber Juhziz]] was ordered to stay behind to eradicate [[NukeEm Hamburg with a nuclear bomb]], killing himself and [[ZergRush Fai]] in the process. Alexander's fate is still unknown, though it was revealed she took part in a Second Korean War in 2018, as well as a conflict in Taiwan several months later.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Russian Federation]]
* AbnormalAmmo: Shock Trooper rifles fire rocket-assisted high explosive bullets.
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The Russians do this to most of the European air forces on a massive scale in the opening phase of the war, crippling most of the ECA's air assets.
* AnonymousRinger: Although not identified by name, President Suvorov's predecessor is heavily implied to be none other than Vladimir Putin, who continued to rule over Russia until 2028 at the ripe age of 76.
* {{BFG}}: Boris, when using the RPG kit, uses a seriously large missile launcher. Shock Troops use gyrojet rifles which, while not quite as large, are still somewhat big for human-supposed weapons and very ''heavy''. Also, most of its infantry special weapons consists of portable rocket & missile launchers.
* BleepDammit: One of the Construction Crane's quotes is "What the *bleep* did just happen here?", even though there are quite a few other units that say words like "shit" and "ass" completely uncensored.
* BoringButPractical:
** [[SovietSuperscience Post-Soviet Superscience]] aside, a good deal of which is under General Aleksandr's control, the bulk of the Russian arsenal is comprised of updated variants of both contemporary and Cold War-era equipment, reflecting a preference for rugged, tried-and-tested designs. These nonetheless prove to be effective enough against Russia's ostensibly more technologically advanced foes.
** The Conscripts count as this as well. They're EXTREMELY cheap and price efficient as well for what they're worth. Their upgrades are also extremely effective as well, as they get the ability to heal themselves, detect stealthed units, and fire for longer bursts from medkits, infrared goggles, and advanced munitions respectively. Plus, killing them only makes them more effective due to their universal ability to get stronger whenever a comrade of theirs falls in battle.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: The [[WorkerUnit Construction Crane]] does it sometimes.
--> '''Magical scaffolding, appear!'''
--> '''My friend, red shape means no building'''
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The Russians can also drop decommissioned Soviet-era vehicles that can be manned by infantry. Moreover, they have access to a refurbished version of the Cold War-vintage Mi-24 Hind chopper as a late-game unit, while many of its lower-tier units are similarly upgraded refits of post-Soviet models.
* {{Conscription}}: Conscripts are the basic anti-infantry and anti-tank infantry of the Russian Federation.
* DieselPunk: Lots of upgraded Cold-War goodies, and their power plants run on coal instead of everyone else's Clean Energy facilities
* DisintegratorRay: Tesla weapons turn enemy infantry into ash and little else.
* DoomTroops: The main purpose of Shock Troopers is to instill pure terror.
* DoABarrelRoll: The Berkut's special maneuver makes it spin, deflecting incoming missiles.
* EagleSquadron: One AscendedFanfic introduced the Legion of Solidarity, a Russian-led peacekeeping unit composed of volunteers from the Federation's allies. The Brown Berets, as they were called, fought in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Africa and distinguished themselves through their unexpected level of gallantry during the Russo-European War, but their legacy was overshadowed by Aleksandr's Shock Divisions over the years.
* EliteMooks: General Aleksandr's Shock Troopers, as well as the Spetznaz and VDV forces available to General Orlov, certainly count, being significantly more potent than the basic Russian Conscript.
* EnemyMine: It was revealed that Russia secretly backed the GLA as a proxy against US interests in the Middle East during the Global War on Terror. The subsequent political scandal seemingly paved the way for Nikolai Suvorov, then leader of the Russian opposition, who rallied the population in protest against the corrupt government and eventually became president himself in 2028.
* {{Expy}}:
** As a whole, thet're this to the Soviets from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'' due to their gratituous use of Tesla technology as well as super-heavy tanks.
*** The Conscripts and RPG Conscripts are also expies of the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'', personality-wise, as the Conscripts share the gung-ho enthusiasm of the former incarnation of the unit while the RPG Conscripts are incredibly bored and dispassionate, like the latter incarnation of the unit.
* FalseFlagOperation: They start the war by staging an alleged ECA commando raid on their own missile base in Kaliningrad.
* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The shroud-producing Blackout Node has become this, in an odd meta kind of way. Even though it can effectively shield a base against Superweapons and General's Powers, people keep forgetting about it because it doesn't work against the AI. As such, it has become a running gag to use it as a semi-ironic HandWave whenever the inherent problems of large scale troop movements and exposed command facilities in the story are brought up. Why hasn't the Russian invasion force in the Channel been detected? Blackout Nodes! Why hasn't Aleksandr's HQ been zapped by Solaris yet? Blackout Nodes! Note that these sensor cloaking capabilities were sufficiently established once, in the initial description of the Node, where it was used to cover up the entirety of Russia's military preparations before the war.
* GasmaskMooks: The most prominent visual feature of Shock Troopers. There are also certain VDV and eventually Spetsnaz units that wear gas masks. Shmel troopers use them with HAZMAT suits for total protection against incendiaries, biochemical toxins, & radiation.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The Golem Tank is equipped with the ''Shtora'' system which disables enemy weapons from targeting it and looks like this. It even says "Look into my eyes!"
* GodzillaThreshold: Russia is the only other major faction aside from China with access to its nuclear arsenal. Unlike the Chinese, however, said nukes are ''only'' available to General Zhukov and require specific clearance to use at all, which would be in a worst-case scenario.
* HealThyself: Boris can use stimpacks to fully restore his health.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: President Suvorov and the Russians in general consider declaring war against Europe to be this. There was virtually no other choice by that point.
* ItsPersonal: One of the reasons why President Suvorov eventually starts the war. The loss of Africa threw Russia into a downward spiral which threatens to undo two decades of national revitalisation i.e. his personal legacy.
* ItsRainingMen: The VDV are deployed via paradrop, complete with raining {{Awesome Personnel Carrier}}s.
* KungFuProofMook: Golem Tanks are completely immune to biological and chemical hazards, electromagnetic pulse weapons, and nuclear radiation.
* LightningGun: Again, Tesla weapons.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Most of the special weapons of Russian infantry consists of portable rocket launchers, particularly the Shock Troopers' automatic rocket rifles, which are based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrojet Gyrojet weapons]], much like the often-compared-to Bolters of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. For a more classic example, there's Buratino multiple rocket launchers raining fiery thermobaric death at garrisoned infantry, Hind & Hellion's rocket pods, and Sentinel's SAM module.
* MagneticWeapons: General Aleksandr will eventually have access to Coilgun technology.
* MakeTheBearAngryAgain: The Russians may be the aggressors of the war, but their portrayal is mostly sympathetic. It's more of a case of the Bear getting angry again after being antagonised despite doing nothing noticeably immoral, having its economic boom cut off, its colonies taken away, and simply seeing no other remedy for its problems at that point.
* MightyGlacier: Contrary to the RealLife Russian design philosophy, the Sentinel is very large, heavy and sluggish. It makes up for its lack of mobility with one of the biggest tank guns in the game, heavy armour and the Arena upgrade which allows the tank to protect itself and friendly vehicles from missile attacks.
* MoreDakka: The Russian superweapon Tremor AGAS 300mm [[GatlingGood gatling gun]] artillery. Also, conscripts which is commonly deployed in large numbers can be upgraded with extended magazines.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Unlike the brutal General Aleksandr, President Suvorov starts to feel legitimately sorry about the catastrophe that he unleashed upon the world. In winter 2048, he openly admits to his Prime Minister that the war must be brought to an end - fast.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: President Nikolai Suvorov may or may not be named after legendary Russian general Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov.
* NationalAnthem: Selecting a Russian Command Bunker plays the first few notes of the Russian anthem.
* NearVillainVictory: If you want to think of the Russians as villains, they came close to breaking the [=ECA=] in May 2048.
* NewMeat: Russian Conscripts, whose training apparently consists of little more than a 30 minute instructional video.
* NonActionBigBad: If one considers Russia to be the antagonistic force of the story, President Suvorov would be this. He did declare war on the ECA and set things into motion for reasons that may or may not be considered agreeable, but he doesn't really do much else since he left the actual strategy part of the war to his military generals. Unfortunately, the one he placed in charge as his acting supreme commander of the invasion wasn't the most ideal choice to say the least...
* NukeEm: Possible with General Zhukov's Topol-M tactical nuke launchers and Missile Silos. Although compared to China, Russia's nuclear deployment is much more limited and austere.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Russian leader Nikolai Suvorov. The Europeans try to make him out as President Evil / {{Jerkass}} while his own people regard him as President Iron / Personable. He also likes to present himself as a badass by donating '''a liter''' of blood at once (that is, about 2 or 3 bags) and it is said that he wrestled power away from the ex-KGB elites. In other words: It's implied that he somehow defeated [[MemeticBadass Vladimir frickin' Putin]]!
* PocketRocketLauncher: Again, Shock Troopers are armed with gyrojet assault rifles. They have the power to threaten tanks and structures and the accuracy to hit infantry. They compliment the Shock Trooper's other weapon, a vehicle-stunning LightningGun, very nicely.
* PollutedWasteland: A large Russian base can give this impression. Their architecture is very austere and industrial and their coal power plants produce insane amounts of thick, black smoke.
* PostSovietReunion: After throwing off the yoke of the post-Soviet dictatorship, the newly liberalized Russia rode the economic boom from selling huge amounts of oil and gas to the recently war-ravaged European countries, allowing it to prosper and strengthen its economy... which it then used to share the fruits of its prosperity with several countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, which had just broken away from the rapidly disintegrating European Union after years of living under Brussel's increasingly illiberal "federal" government. The shift is cemented by those self-same countries getting snubbed later by the newly formed [[UnitedEurope European Continental Alliance]], leading to those states entering into an alliance with Russia. Ukraine is the exception to this... until a civil war erupts between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions, and a Russian intervention leads to Ukraine's southern coastline and easternmost parts seceding and joining Russia. Eventually, however, Russia (and by proxy its allies) ends up invading the ECA with the aim of conquering it in a desperate bid to avert economic collapse, which is further complicated by the United States jumping to the ECA's defense.
* PretextForWar: The Russian government blames the 2044 wildfires on the ECA even though they could have easily been a natural disaster. It's not outright stated to be the casus belli, but it marks an important step in the chain of escalation. The actual pretext comes in the form of a false flag attack. In the east, ethnic clashes between Russians and Chinese immigrants could also escalate at any time. As of winter 2048, the Chinese are massing forces on their side of the border.
* RecycledSoundtrack: The Russian in-game music is from the 2003 third person shooter ''VideoGame/FreedomFighters2003'', with one track from the game ''VideoGame/{{Earth 2150}}''. Several voices (such as Boris and the advisor) are recycled from the second and third ''Red Alert'' games.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: PlayedWith. While their buildings are primarily a black color and their official color is a dull maroon, and some of their units and members are certainly evil and unhinged, such as Aleksandr and his subordinates, while Orlov and Zhukov are simply loyal to Russia. This even reflects in their units, such as the Construction Crane, the Arms Supplier, and the Conscripts, don't have any truly malevolent lines, and the Conscripts even mention fighting for their families in one of their attack lines, while other units, such as the Tesla Tank and the Sentinel Tank, are more malevolent in nature.
* RedScare: Defied, the Russian Federation is explicitly not communist.
* SmokeOut: Shmel Troopers and many Russian vehicles can fire smoke grenades as a form of cover or to retreat. Enemy units usually blindly shoot into said smoke screens.
* SociopathicSoldier: General Aleksandr's Shock Troopers are trained to become this. The backstory describes their training methods as literally inhumane and those who survive to graduate end up as living war machines running only on hatred.
* SovietSuperscience: General Aleksandr lives on this, being in charge of (and having access to) the Russian Federation's most cutting-edge hardware.
* SuperPoweredMooks: Subverted. Shock Troopers are feared to be superhuman but they just push their bodies [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower to the most extreme limits]] and have sophisticated equipment.
* TankGoodness: Arguably the most tank-heavy faction in the game. Their Sentinels are stated to be the 'kings of tanks'.
** Later updates introduced the Elite '''Blackbear''' tank, which is basically a Sentinel tank on steroids. Not only is it's armor and firepower greater than the standard, it has a faster rate of fire, comes pre-equipped with ''both'' the Arena and missiles upgrades, carries the same Shtora Defense system as Golem tanks, and (as an encore) can fire Thermobaric shells.
---> "You requested the best... [[BadassBoast so here we are.]]"
* TestosteronePoisoning: Boris to some degree.
* TookALevelInBadass: The first incarnation of the Sentinel tank was regarded as a worthless parade piece by the Russian military, which derisively called it the 'novelty tank' due to its perceived uselessness. After the rise of Nikolai Suvorov, a new model was designed from the ground up and became much more successful, to the point of being Russia's most powerful and iconic combat vehicle. The later M2 and M3 variants essentially attained a legendary status similar to the UsefulNotes/WW2 era Tiger tank during the [=Russo-European War.=]
* TradingBarsForStripes: Many Shock Troopers are prisoners who have decided to fight in the Shock Divisions instead of being executed or serving life sentences.
* TrainingFromHell: The Shock Troopers go through this in Siberia and routinely fight each other to death in exercises. Spetsnaz training looks downright humane by comparison.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: President Suvorov really wants what is best for Russia (which also happens to coincide with preserving his personal legacy), even if it means waging war against Europe. Once things start going against the Russians however and with General Aleksandr's mounting ego posing more of a threat to the Motherland, he starts finding ways to end the conflict.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:European Continental Alliance]]
* ActionGirl: One of the Venom units is piloted by a woman. There's also the Field Medic, who is armed with a submachine gun.
-->'''Valkyrie:''' [[BadassBoast I'll send you back to the kitchen - in hell!]]
* TheAhnold: The Manticore's driver.
* TheAlliance: After what happened with the EU, the ECA is ''very explicitly'' this.
* TheArtifact: InUniverse, Brexit finally happened just before the events of the game. The two UK commanders are still using the ECA's arsenal.
* AwesomePersonnelCarrier: The Lynx [=APC=].
* AngryGuardDog: The ECA uses German Shepherds which are effective for scouting and absolutely lethal against infantry.
* AxCrazy: Lynx drivers and Wotan operators seem to be flat-out insane.
* BeehiveBarrier: The Manticore can create one to protect itself for a few seconds.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: The EU High Council and propaganda ministries prior to the massed {{Velvet Revolution}}s believed they were really doing everything in the name of the people. This includes censorship of mass media and detainment of "unlikables" in a similar manner to (other) dictatorships. They even ordered to use military force against the "rabble" (unarmed civilians) though the common conscience of the forces in action detained them instead.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The late [=EU=] definitely gives this vibe.
* BlatantLies: Prior to the GLA attack of 2028, the [=EU=] turned into an authoritarian hell-hole, producing propagandistic slogans such as "united forever in friendship of freedom" or "no more nations, no more war", alongside a map of a United Europe without borders. A later map reveals that Britain, Ireland, as well as many regions such as Bavaria, Padania and Catalonia had actually left the EU - possibly even by force - at that point.
* {{BFG}}: Venom suits are armed with either a high-powered automatic shotgun that can reduce infantry to shreds, or a powerful railgun sniper rifle that can OneHitKill vehicles.
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: In addition to potentially unlocking its stockpiles of neutron bombs and nerve gas, the ECA could deploy the Manticore Superheavy Tank, which is effectively a modernized version of the infamous ''Maus'' from the Second World War.
* BritainIsOnlyLondon: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. The one major story portion dedicated to the UK is set in the seaside town of Ramsgate where the Russians make landfall. It is mentioned that the other focal point of the Russian landing is Kingsdown and that Charles is commanding one of the defences directly.
* CoolPlane: Plenty, despite not having an air force in the conventional in-game sense.
* CompositeCharacter:
** They're based off of the Allies from the Red Alert Series, but have the attributes of every version of them showcased in all 3 games. They're composed exclusively out of European countries and their airforce consisting almost exclusively out of helicopters brings to mind their portrayal in the original ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'', while some of their units are similar to the ones that they had in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'', such as their Jumpjet Troopers, Pandur IFV, and Jagdmammut, being similar to the Rocketeers, IFV, and Tank Destroyer respectively. Their use of Cryo technology also brings to mind their incarnation in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'', which featured the Allies using similar weaponry in the form of the Cryocopter, the Cryo series of Top Secret Protocols, and, in ''Uprising'', the Cryo Legionnaires.
*** To a lesser degree, aside from being based off of the Allies in all 3 main Red Alert games, they have elements of the Global Defense Initiative, mainly their depiction in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'', such as the use of yellow as their factions official color. The Jagdmammut Tank Destroyer is also essentially the Mammoth Tank without its anti-air/anti-infantry rocket pods, and their name itself means [[BilingualBonus "Hunting Mammoth"]] in German, while their use of Jumpjet Troopers is also a reference towards the unit of the same name in alongside referencing the Rocketeers at the same time.
* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Not only do the French provide a fair number of decent units in-game, including the Felin troopers, the Tiger helicopter and the Valkyrie Venom exo-suit, but their [[NuclearOption use of nuclear weapons]] marks the major turning point of the Russo-European War. President Marmont preferred to nuke his own country rather than surrendering it to General Aleksandr.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Unlike the other factions, their defences are more varied but specialised: Guard Towers are only truly effective against infantry and a few light vehicles, Gun Turrets are only effective against vehicles and Skyshields can only attack air units. Every structure is superior at what it is supposed to be but a proper ECA defence line has to mix them in order to be truly effective.
* DeadlineNews: Implied to be the fate of Eric Brice from ECAN news after the Russians conquer Berlin. Turns out he ducked behind his desk, and he survived. But now he is forced to read the Russian propaganda. Whether this counts as [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment cool punishment]] or not isn't clear though.
* DeadlyGas: Another nasty benefit of the Pandora protocol. The already annoying tear gas strike turns into a nerve gas strike which creates a dense cloud of death which kills absolutely everything it comes in contact with, including vehicle crews behind their armored coffins.
* DeathFromAbove: In addition to mortar and artillery defenses, the ECA can deploy Harrier jets and launch risky bombing runs on enemy positions. This is in no small part due to the Royal Air Force being just about ''the only organized one left'' that the ECA has.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Notably, the ECA followed up on its retaliatory invasion of North Africa with a series of massive infrastructural, social and military development programs in the region in order to make it hostile territory for the GLA. In 2048, the SNN news ticker briefly mentions that a GLA incursion into southern Algeria has been successfully repelled by Maghreb forces, suggesting that the plan worked out.
* DumbMuscle:
** Panzerfaust soldiers seem rather dim-witted, speaking slowly and being mainly concerned with the fact their guns are really heavy, in both senses of the word.
** Likewise, the Manticore Tank pilots and the on-board A.I. assisting in piloting the tank itself count as this, as the A.I. doesn't seem to be particularly intelligent and the pilots themselves aren't above yelling at, and arguing with said A.I.
* EliteArmy: The European Continental Army is this in a story sense. It is not a complete amalgamation of all the national militaries of Europe, but rather a separate, standing task force with the best equipment from all of them. It is explicitely stated that, on the onset of the Russo-European War, the ECA itself counts approx. 1.2 million active personnel, supported by another 2.5 million troops from the national militaries who presumably concentrate on defending their own countries while the ECA fights a retreating battle as they fall.
* {{Expy}}: Of the ''Red Alert'' series' Allies, minus America.
* TheFederation: The ECA is this in the most technical definition of the word.
* FictionalPoliticalParty: The Hope and Glory Party, which removed the UK from the EU and improved the country's global standing via a tighter cooperation with the Commonwealth.
* FieldPromotion: Given as a literal power, which lets ECA players give their units a free Veterancy level.
* FirstNameBasis: The European Generals Wolfgang von Kuerten, Willem van der Meer and Charles Cutting are refered to by their first names in-game.
* FixedForwardFacingWeapon: The Jagdmammut Tank Destroyer.
* FlechetteStorm: Canister rounds are this and remarkably effective against infantry. The Gepard and Leopard also have canister bombs which launch automatically when enemy infantry like Terrorists come too close to the vehicle.
* FreezeRay: The Fenris uses a cooling laser, which freezes infantry to death, followed by [[LiterallyShatteredLives shattering into pieces]]. Similarly, it disables vehicles by freezing their moving parts into place, similar to an {{EMP}} attack. It can also overcharge its weapon to outright kill the crews of manned vehicles (and disabling them for good measure), opening them up for capture by infantry.
* GatlingGood: The Dutch-exclusive Goalkeeper CIWS.
* GentlemanThief: One of the scrapped concepts for the ECA Hero.
* GermanicEfficiency: Subverted with many of the German ECA units: Panzerfaust troopers appear to be somewhat dim-witted, Gepard commanders seem unprofessionally TriggerHappy and the [[TheAhnold Manticore]] commander is raging on his own adrenaline. Functionally, all of the units are still pretty effective but then again, the team has a rule of not adding useless crap for the mere sake of adding it.
* GlassCannon: The Pandora fires [[{{BFG}} massive]] [[NeutronBomb neutron shells]] that can easily wipe out an entire attack force several times its own price but it is slow, takes precious seconds to deploy and undeploy, has a noticeable minimum range and weak armour.
* GodzillaThreshold:
** May 2048. The Russians are on the verge of victory, with the [=ECA=] holed up just north of the Pyrenees, its manpower dwindling and no hope in side. Enter, the neutron bombs.
** The ''Manticore'' tank, SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Maus'' in-universe and the Mammoth Tank out of it, is emblematic of the ECA's sheer "do not want" towards being conquered by Russia.
** In addition to the aforementioned neutron bombs, the Pandora protocol also unlocks access to [[DeadlyGas nerve gas strikes almost straight out of World War I]], reflecting just how far the ECA will go to secure victory.
* GoodWeaponEvilWeapon: The ECA completely ruins the stereotypical conventions of Western factions using 'good' / 'humane' weapons by making liberal use of land mines, cluster bombs, atomic bombs and even nerve gas out of sheer desperation.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Inverted with the Venoms, the Viking is a male sniper while the Valkyrie is a female close-combater.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Getting abandoned by their [=US=] allies, ravaged by the [=GLA=] then bailed out by China had quite an effect on the Europeans. The ECA is a democratic institution but at the same time paranoid, secluded and with traces of militarism. The Russian invasion may or may not push them over the edge.
* HighTechHexagons: The Nano Shock Absorbers that can be installed on various European vehicles have a hexagon-shaped tile pattern.
* HistoryRepeats: The EU was starting to turn into Nazi Germany 2.0 prior to its collapse.
* ImprovisedWeapon:
** The Solaris satellites were not designed to be {{Kill Sat}}s. During peace time, they were used to produce clean energy and direct sunlight onto farms.
** The dreaded Pandora railgun is actually a military refit of an orbital payload accelerator used by the European Space Agency. In addition, it is implied that the nano repair foam used to fill the holes of damaged tank hulls upon activation of the Manticore protocol also serves to maintain European satellites in space.
** Many of the ECA's upgrades and unlockable units, including the [[SuperPrototype Venoms]], are all but stated to be the result of experimental projects being hastily refitted for mass-production and front line service in the face of the Russian onslaught.
* InsistentTerminology: The European Continental Alliance is ''not'' the European Union.
* InUniverseCatharsis: The total collapse of the European political and financial system in the wake of the GLA attack had this effect on the nations of Europe, resulting in a more decelerated and humble way of life in which the excessive materialism and egocentrism of the past gave way to a new sentiment of solidarity, diligence and 'can do' optimism reminiscent of the post-WWII period.
* KickTheDog: There's wildfires raging all around Moscow and a German minister has nothing better to do than berating Russia for its failed environmental/energy policies.
* KillSat: The Solar Blast superweapon is fired from one of the ECA's solar energy satellites.
* LandmineGoesClick: The Mole Minelayer. The update that introduced it depicted it as pure horror for the GLA. In addition, the ECA can also deploy large fields of anti-personnel, anti-tank and even anti-air mines by air, Tiger helicopters can spawn Icarus balloon mines and the Pandora can even place a neutron bomb as a stand-still bomb. Meanwhile the Smart Bomb does the same with a high-explosive warhead that gets upgraded to Neutron Bomb with the Pandora protocol. Overall the trope is PlayedWith, since some of these mines actually do click while others just explode in your face (literally).
* LaResistance: Hauptmann Frank Jaeger who also happens to be the ECA's hero.
* LightEmUp: The Solar Burst and the Wotan (although the Wotan's attack should be outside the visible spectrum).
* MightyGlacier: The ECA has good firepower and solid defences but lacks agility. [[TankGoodness The Manticore tank]] is a perfect example of this. [[{{BFG}} It packs amazing amounts of firepower]], has tough armour and rapid auto-repair but it's quite slow and cumbersome. Justified for a vehicle that is described by its driver as '100 tons of German engineering'. The commander of the first tank crew that was given the privilege of driving a Manticore commented that the tank is so large and heavy that the chassis and turret had to be brought in on two separate train cars and assembled on-site.
* MechanicallyUnusualFighter: Downplayed. But compared to China, Russia, and America, the ECA has a plethora of unique gimmicks and gameplay features, with one of the most notable ones being that, instead of using basic infantry to capture buildings like the rest of the factions, they have to capture structures the old fashioned way by constructing Engineers and manuevering them over the structures to capture them.
* MoreDakka: Again, the Goalkeeper, which is a gatling gun. On a smaller level, the [=MG3s=] mounted on Guard Towers have a rather impressive rate of fire as well.
* MultinationalTeam: Includes every country between Portugal and Poland. The in-game units have distinct German, Dutch, French, British, Italian, Spanish and Scandinavian accents.
* MythologyGag: Aside form being based off of the Allies from the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries Red Alert]]'' [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries series]], they're heavily similar in concept to the European Union from the cancelled sequel to Generals known only as ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer2013 Command & Conquer]]''.
* NationalAnthem: Despite not technically being a nation of its own, the ECA is said to play Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum on official occasions after Beethoven's Ode To Joy absorbed some negative connotations from its use by the declining in-universe EU. In real life, Te Deum is used as a kind of theme music by the European Broadcasting Union - which, interestingly, is not actually affiliated with the European Union and can be considered a predecessor of the in-universe ECAN. We also get the text of Germany's new anthem after the reformation of Europe, which now includes one stanza from the former West German anthem, one from the more introspective Children's Anthem by Bertolt Brecht and one from the romantic future positive anthem of East Germany.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Pretty much the entire chain of escalation could have been prevented if ECA high command had seen the big picture and allowed Wolfgang to aid the Russians in 2041.
* NuclearOption: Enacted by the French in May 2048 and available in the game in the form of nasty neutron weapons. In the story, this is the moment where the Russian advance is finally stopped at a tremendous cost.
* NoPartyGiven: During the twilight years of the EU, Germany was ruled by the so-called 'Europakoalition' which apparently consisted of four parties and was eventually swept out of office when the German military sided with the people. Even though none of them is mentioned by name, even a slight familiarity with the German political system makes it easy to guess which parties this might be referring to. The situation itself is also reminiscent of the troubled Weimar Republic, which was governed by an emergency coalition of three parties due to severe political instability.
* NotQuiteDead: As it turns out, Eric Brice dived under his table when the Russians barged into his studio. Now he's being forced to read their [[PropagandaMachine ridiculous propaganda.]]
* NotTheIntendedUse: The Solaris Relay and Pandora Railgun "superweapons" are actually intended for entirely peaceful purposes: projecting sunlight onto farms (both for food and power) and launching sattelites, respectively. It's just that they can crank up the yeild of the Solaris to steel-melting intensity, and use the Pandora to yeet Le Neutron Bombes at enemy formations.
* [[OneManArmy One Tank Army]]: The Manticore by virtue of having a build limit of one and being very tough to crack.
* PillarOfLight: The Solar Blast superweapon. It's also reminiscent of the Ion Cannon from older C&C games.
* PollutedWasteland: Ibrahiim's infamous chemical attack has turned the Rhineland into this, rendering it uninhabitable until at least 2060.
* PoweredArmor: The Venom suits, although their operation is closer to a MiniMecha as the operators are placed in a suspended pod. They are space suits turned combat suits in the middle of the war. Infantry units also get exoskeletons after the Venom protocol is activated.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: The ECA's Solaris technology is all about this. Not only does it use satellites to direct sunlight onto Earth-based power stations, it actually uses that power to initiate and sustain a fusion reactor i.e. a literal mini-version of the Sun on Earth. This technology renders Europe factually self-sufficient, threatening Russian fuel exports and hurting the relationship between the two factions many years before the war.
* PurposelyOverpowered: The Manticore, Pandora and Venom units can only be built one at a time (one each in case of the two Venom variants) because they are experimental. On the other hand, they are '''very''' powerful in return.
* PuttingOnTheReich: Their Region Command was jokingly likened to a nazi doom fortress, their soundtrack has a very militaristic vibe to it and their dress uniforms look distinctly authoritarian - or hilarious if you've ever seen the New Jersey State Police. Inverted in that the ECA is still solidly democratic and merely fighting a defensive war to protect its homeland. At one point in the story, the German soldiers who made their last stand inside the Reichstag also invoked this by donning their stone grey dress uniforms in order to look more elite and thus frightening.
* RecursiveAmmo: ECA artillery can be upgraded to shoot shells that explode into fragments, doing additional area damage per shot.
* RecycledSoundtrack: The ECA soundtrack uses the Codename: Panzers Phase One music along with a few Wargames: DEFCON 1 tracks, plus a piece from Sim City: Societies. In addition, the advisor's voice is that of Lt. Eva from ''Red Alert 3''.
* RevolversAreJustBetter: ECA anti-aircraft guns can be upgraded with a revolver mechanism to increase their dakka output. The Valkyrie Venom's grenade launcher-shotgun combination is also a revolver.
* RidiculousExchangeRates: The Euro became this after several years of economic crises and the total collapse of the European financial system in the wake of the [=GLA=] attack. It was subsequently reduced to a virtual accountancy unit akin to the old [=ECU=] and replaced by new national currencies.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Operation Nemesis, the all-out invasion of GLA-controlled North Africa, was this. Noteworthy in that the ECA actually proceeded to -help- the locals after they drove out the GLA.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: When the entire Dutch government [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere resigned]] during the collapse of the EU, trusted members of the royal family assumed interim positions to maintain public order in the Netherlands. It is also heavily implied that Prince William has become King of England and that his brother stayed in London to coordinate the defense of England during the Russian invasion. He died when the Russians bombed his command post, but the loss proved to be a major morale boost for the British and their Commonwealth allies who fought with even greater tenacity in the battles that followed.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Frank Jaeger's primary weapon is a pump action shotgun. Putting him inside a Pandur equips the vehicle with a massive canister cannon too.
* SmokingIsCool: Tiger pilots often comment that they could use a cigarette in accordance with their 'French smoker' stereotype while Frank Jaeger seems to run out of smokes all the time.
* SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass: The [[KillSat Solaris]] satellites basically function on this principle.
* SuperPrototype: The Venom units, which are PurposelyOverpowered powered armor suits that border on becoming HumongousMecha compared to the upgraded infantry, which use rugged exoskeletons instead.
* TacticalSuperweaponUnit:
** Their ''Manticore'' Superheavy Tank checks all the boxes: MoreDakka? Yup, with no less than ''three'' powerful weapon batteries (two 150mm cannons, a twin-linked autocannon for anti-air defense, and a missile pod for anything the other two can't handle). A DamageSpongeBoss? You betcha! It can even be ''upgraded with more armor!'' Neato gimmick? It's surrounded by repair drones that spray healing NanoMachines on itself and any nearby friendly vehicles. Can only field one at a time? Yes, and it takes a full minute to even ''begin'' making a new one. It's basically a ''Maus'' made viable thanks to futuristic technologies.
** The ''Venom'' Mini-mecha can also only be fielded in limited numbers (one bristling-with-guns ''Valkyrie'' to take on whole armies, and one [[MagneticWeapons railgun]]-toting ''Viking'' for surgical strikes, making the total two suits). They field devastating weapons, but require micromanagement (''Valkyries'' can only fire one weapon system at a time, and ''Vikings'' are snipers).
* TakingYouWithMe: ECA structures can be targeted by off-screen artillery should the enemy get too close.
* TeamSwitzerland: Switzerland, in the face both the EU and the changing political climate nonetheless manages to hold its stride, even succeeding in preventing the GLA's move into the Alps. By the 2040s, the Swiss formally remain a neutral bulwark, though that doesn't stop them from lending the ECA a hand (the extensive use of fortifications and turrets being based on Swiss designs) and voluntarily stowing away as much of Europe's cultural heritage as possible. It's no coincidence that they're one of the few European states (if not the ''only'' one) that escape the mass devastation seen elsewhere across the Continent.
* TokenMinority: It's implied that the various minorities in Europe, such as Germany's Turkish immigrants had been largely integrated if not culturally assimilated, possibly in an attempt to distance themselves from the potential GLA stigma.
* TookALevelInBadass: With the United States gone, the European Union was wholly unable to stop the GLA insurrection of 2028, its armed forces weakened by budget cuts, mutinies, secessions and political bickering. The ECA on the other hand is depicted as tough, capable and pragmatic, to the point of using many weapons that seem to be specifically designed to counter the GLA, such as bomb-detecting Attack Dogs, Mobile Sensor Arrays which reveal concealed units in a wide radius and the Mole Minelayer which can effectively seal flanking routes with mines and decimate units as they exit a tunnel if used correctly. As an individual unit, the Tiger Gunship also exemplifies the badassery gained: The German UHT variant had faulty electronics and proved useless against the GLA which didn't rely on the Cold War era tank assault the Tiger was designed to defeat; it didn't even have a rotating turret. A few years later, the ECA 'King Tiger' model packs powerful rotating rocket pods with effective splash damage, anti-air mines and anti-air missiles which not only makes it the bane of the GLA's lightly armored ground units but also allows it to take on enemy aircraft, including Russia's famous helicopters.
* UnitedEurope: Deconstructed with the failing in-universe European Union, then subverted with the newly founded ECA which is an alliance of sovereign nations as opposed to the one unified super-state that keeps popping up in a lot of speculative fiction. The old EU was also nearing this before its collapse.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans:
** The EU leadership and elite prior to the GLA attack really seemed to believe in fulfilling their vision of a transnational, cosmopolitan UnitedEurope, [[WellIntentionedExtremist no matter the cost]]. As mentioned above and below, it didn't work.
** This attitude was taken to an extreme by the former head of the [[SecretPolice European Domestic Security Directorate]], who ordered the use of lethal force against the popular uprisings that formed during the Union's collapse, which he dismissed as [[YouRebelScum "nationalistic rats" and "reactionary rabble"]]. Thankfully, no one followed his orders and he was apprehended, put on trial and sentenced to life imprisonment during the aftermath.
* VelvetRevolution: Happened in Germany and the Netherlands after the GLA attack. The French went for something more dramatic and flat-out stormed the presidential palace to proclaim the Sixth Republic.
* ViolentGlaswegian: The Grenadier.
* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: The pre-assembled ECA battle groups available at the Deployment Zone are brought in by the CL250 cargo airship. The backstory heavily implies that it is a distant offspring of the defunct 1990s era Cargolifter project that is now used by a number of civilian logistics companies. The airship is so large and majestic that the sultan of Oman even tried to order one for himself to turn it into a flying palace.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:United States of America]]
* AgonyBeam: US Microwave weapons were meant to be this, but it is explained that their operators generally forego the non-lethal setting and just cook the guys who are shooting at them with real weapons.
* AmericaTakesOverTheWorld: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. After their retreat from Europe, the US reverts to isolationism, which eventually breaks their economy's back. This in turn forces them to form an economic trade bloc with Canada and Mexico, leading to an American resurgence by the time Russia invades Europe.
* AmericaSavesTheDay: Not as much 'saving the day' as 'sealing the deal' after the ECA had inflicted enough casualties and broke the Russians' momentum by itself. The American contribution to the war is limited to air support, Marine landings and special operations which merely serve to intensify the ECA's counter-attack.
* TheAtoner: The Americans in general, especially following their decision to go isolationist. They're more humble from the experience, although they're no less eager to fight for freedom and democracy.
* AttackDrone: Unmanned vehicles are pretty much one of their themes.
* AwesomePersonnelCarrier: The Bradley IFV comes with a powerful auto-cannon, TOW-missiles, a point-defense laser and transport slots.
* BackFromTheBrink: The USA makes a dramatic comeback on the global stage, in contrast to its isolationist if not dysfunctional malaise at the end of ''Zero Hour''. Just in time for the Americans to intervene in favor of the ECA during Russia's invasion.
* BadassBoast: Colonel Burton and the Pathfinders are the most obvious examples.
* BeamSpam: The US Military makes use of point-defense lasers, anti-air beams and microwave weapons. Budget cuts in the immediate years after Zero Hour however led to the government shutting down some of the more exotic projects seen in the expansion pack, though not without confronting General Townes.
* BlandNameProduct: The American fusion reactors are made by a company called National Atomics which is either a nationalized or fantasy counterpart version of General Atomics.
* BlackHelicopter: Pitch-black textures don't look good in-game but all American helicopters come pretty close to being this. General Griffon's unique Comanche will fit this even more by virtue of having stealth capabilities.
* BlindedByTheLight: The Rangers' Flashbangs, to the point of being lethal in some cases. However, most infantry instead surrender; they can then be collected as [=PoWs=] by Rangers to give a charge to the CIA map reveal power.
* BoringButPractical:
** In contrast to the generals of the other factions, who all have some sort of distinctive niche and easily recognizable specialization, the generals of the USA simply specialize in the three basic types of units, aircraft, land vehicles, and infantry, with their gameplay focused around this.
** While the Americans are technologically on par with the ECA, they're generally more inclined to make do with more piecemeal improvements on what worked during the events of ''Zero Hour'' for mass-production than push [[SuperPrototype radical experimental projects]], drones notwithstanding.
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece:
** After the apparent demise of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, the [[CoolPlane F-117 Nighthawk]], which was originally mothballed in 2008, was updated and reintroduced as the standard American strike bomber. It is quite effective against defenses and anti-air.
** Even into the 2040s, the Americans still deploy the B-52 Stratofortress and M1 Abrams (as the Paladin Tank), both of which have been upgraded to keep up with the times. The original Crusader Is are also mentioned as still in use, though mostly for export to other NAU member states like Mexico. This is also justified due to the post-''Zero Hour'' isolationism and economic downturn forcing the US to substantially cut costs in military R&D, thus forcing the Americans to rely more on refurbishing older hardware.
* TheCavalry: America's entry into the Euro-Russian War basically comes off as this. It's this intervention that's kept the ECA from collapsing entirely, though it also runs the risk of escalating the conflict.
* ChurchMilitant: It is vaguely implied that the Global War On Terror had, at some point, a culture war component which led to the introduction of the original Crusader tank and the renaming of the M1 Abrams to Paladin, both of which saw extensive use against the [=crypto-Islamic=] GLA in the Middle East. Much of this subtext has disappeared over time, with the US having gone through a tough but cathartic phase of political/economic trouble and the GLA having broadened its ideological range to include any 'anti-imperialist' stream imaginable under Sulaymaan.
* CompositeCharacter: In addition to being a logical evolution of its ''Zero Hour'' incarnation, the US incorporates the Allies' penchant for air power in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'', as well as having similarly powerful specialized infantry units like the [=Navy SEALs=]. The Americans also, peculiarly enough, share the Empire of the Rising Sun's reliance of technology and swift mobility, be it the widespread use of drones, or utilizing floating fortresses like the USS Spirit Of Freedom to quickly deploy troops wherever needed.
%%* ColdSniper: The Pathfinder.
%%* ColonelBadass: Colonel Burton.
* TheConspiracy: The creation of the North American Union is decried as this by a group of fringe protesters, one of whom is a talk radio host who seems to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Alex Jones.
* CoolBoat: The American intervention in the [=Russo-European=] War is led by the USS Spirit Of Freedom, a Mobile Offshore Base that is inspired by the USS Reagan from ''VideoGame/EndWar'' and the Japanese Floating Fortresses from ''Red Alert 3''. A burst from a hijacked Solaris satellite merely took out ''one'' of her runways and even though it only appears in the story, it serves to explain all the large American bombers and other planes that fly over Europe.
* CoolPlane: Sort of their thing.
* CuteMachines: American drone units tend to be more cute-looking than their manned counter parts. This is especially true for the Recon Drone, which even the makers humourously refer to as the "Kawaii-Bot".
* DeathFromAbove: Comes in the form of planes, choppers, gunships, missiles...
* {{Eagleland}}: They've shifted more and more into Type 1 over the years, although there are still some Type 2 skeletons in the closet.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: To the point where Army Rangers are their most basic infantry units. General Thorn will also have access to Navy [=SEALs=] and Green Berets.
* EnemyMine: Despite tensions with its old Chinese rivals, the United States still remains friendly with them, finding common cause in deterring both the Russians and GLA.
* EnergyWeapon: They use lasers of the anti-air, point-defence and targeting variety. To say nothing of its Particle Cannon.
* EjectionSeat: US vehicles will eject the crew if destroyed.
* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: The North American Union, despite making no efforts to turn into some sort of federal state after the failure of the in-universe EU, is a much closer strategic alliance between the US, Canada and Mexico. The NAU was formed to pull the US back out of their post-Global War On Terror recession, thus making it a subversion.
%%* FactionCalculus: Balanced.
* FailedFutureForecast: In-universe. Shortly after the Global War on Terror, US intelligence agencies and political pundits claimed that [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld China would take over the world]] and that Russia's new President Suvorov was really just an ineffectual mouth-piece of the ex-Soviet elites; the same elites which he actually abolished and destroyed. This coincidentally forced America to step into a geopolitical landscape that had radically changed from those expectations.
* FallenStatesOfAmerica: Zigzagged - after the GLA war, the US retreated into isolationism, which resulted in economic disaster. However, enough time has elapsed for the US to get its feet back under it. So America fell, but got back up.
* FlawedPrototype: General Townes' laser projects last seen in ''Zero Hour'' are implied to have been this. The out-of-control R&D spending and power-hungry hardware involved with said projects proved too unsustainable as the then-isolationist government sought to implement budget cuts. This coincidentally explains the lack of Laser Crusaders and why the usage of lasers remain primarily of the point-defense and anti-air kind.
* FuturisticSuperhighway: As part of the NAU agreement, the Interstate-35 was expanded into a massive superhighway that spans all the way between Minnesota and Texas. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] [[BoringYetPractical in that it's still more or less just a very large conventional highway]]. In addition, the US and Canada have build a vacuum tube train line along the Eastern Seaboard which seems like a more straight example.
* GatlingGood: The AC-17 Spectre III and the A-10C Thunderbolt II.
* HellholePrison: The US Black Sea prison in which GLA Warlord Sulaymaan was (not) held may be this. It was reserved for high-profile inmates and apparently hellish enough for the GLA to execute every non-prisoner they got a hold of when they raided it. In-game, one of the US tech buildings is also a Detention Camp.
* HighlyConspicuousUniform: Even though the cameos depict them in generic desert uniforms, most US infantry units wear highly conspicuous blue uniforms in-game.
* HoverTank: The American Crusader II can turn into this for extra speed but reduced armor.
* InUniverseCatharsis: Not too unlike Europe, the political and economic fallout of the United States' slide into isolationism after the events of ''Zero Hour'' spur a nationwide soul-searching, resulting in a humbled yet rejuvenated American society. Though still gung-ho in its patriotism, America by the 2040s is much more self-conscious of its faults and makes an effort to live up to its image.
* InstantDeathRadius: Microwave Tanks cook and pop enemy infantry units in their vicinity.
* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]].
** The US homeland is never, at any point in the timeline, deliberately attacked by a foreign power. But there was an incident in backstory when a malfunctioning Solaris satellite crashed in the Alaskan wilderness near Anchorage. The ECA dispatched some French Paratroopers to scuttle the craft before someone else got their hands on it, while Russia sent in some Spetsnaz forces with that very intent in mind. Then the whole situation blew up when elements of the Alaskan National Guard came out to investigate what the hell was going on and a three-way firefight broke out.
** The lore for the Anarchist GLA unit mentions a terrorist cell called the "Wall Street Bombers" who attacked various financial buildings in Manhattan, indicating that while the GLA can't ''invade'' the United States, they can cause chaos there.
* InvisibilityCloak: They have a few stealth units for specialised tactical purposes.
* ItsRainingMen: Paratroopers with Humvees can be called in via air-drop.
* KillSat: Inverted. Particle Cannons fire a beam from the ground up where it is deflected onto the target by satellites.
* LaserSight: Used by the Missile Defenders and Avenger to increase accuracy and rate of fire, and by aircraft to increase the accuracy and damage of their weapons.
* MechaMooks: To a greater extent than other factions, the USA relies extensively on drones and automated systems to augment, but not replace, its smaller ranks of professional troops.
* TheMenInBlack:
** There are some hints which suggest that the American intelligence agencies still have some dubious powers reminiscent of a police state but they seem to be reserved for foreign terrorists like Anwar Sulaymaan whose doppelganger was held in a US secret prison in Turkey and military whistleblowers like Corporal Brandon Miller, who leaked confidential information regarding the top-secret Anchorage incident and ended up "detained indefinitely."
** In-game, CIA support can be requested for a price, which briefly opens up the entire map and exposes all enemy forces.
* MoralMyopia: Deconstructed. The aftermath of America's drive to isolationism after its nigh self-righteous streak in the Global War on Terror forced Americans to look deep at their moral "high ground." They're noticeably [[TheAtoner more apologetic]] and eager to restore their "moral responsibilities" to the wider world by the 2040s however.
* NoPartyGiven: Throughout the decades, the story mentions at least four US Presidents by name: Paulson, who was apparently responsible for the country's change to isolationism, O'Connor, who founded the North American Union, Giordano, whose administration was responsible for the ill-fated Pacific Peace Alliance and its brief war against the Russian protectorates in Africa and William Bradford, his successor who led America into the Third World War. We never get any clear information as to which parties they represent but we do know from Bradford's speech in Congress that the political landscape is still primarily divided into Republicans and Democrats.
* OldSoldier: Colonel Burton is all but stated to be the same one who saw action during the events of ''Zero Hour'', but is still more than capable of getting the job done.
* OrangeBlueContrast: The Drone protocols feature this, where the hammer protocol (attack boost) is orange and the shield protocol (defence boost) is cyan. The spear protocol (range boost) is green, which on a spectrum is between the other two.
* PatrioticFervor: Many units say various phrases that are distinctly "American" like the 4th of July quote of the Missile Defender. There also are lots of USA flags.
%%* PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo: The Particle Cannon.
* PillarOfLight: The Particle Cannon. This one is very precise and can be steered.
* PointDefenseless: Subverted, the USA has multiple units (such as the Avenger) who provide point-defence lasers to destroy incoming missiles. Some require an upgrade first, while Paladins have them by default.
* PolishTheTurd: According to a European Solaris scientist, the American power plants do not actually run on cold fusion. They're regular hot fusion reactors that run at the lowest possible temperature and pressure, but the National Atomics PR department claimed this to be the real deal and the advertised name stuck on, to the chagrin of European and American scientists. Kind of like that whole "god particle" thing. This was later resolved and now they are called "Fusion Reactors" like what they really are.
* RecycledSoundtrack: The Navy [=SEAL's=] voice set comes from ''Red Alert 2''.
* RobotRollCall: Robotics are one of the US' specialties.
* RousingSpeech:
** President William 'Willie' Bradford delivers one rather epic speech in his first proper appearance, urging Congress to authorise a military intervention on behalf of the Europeans. He invokes literary references out of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and his main reasoning for a late entry into the war seems to be moral responsibility, considering that America had already left Europe to burn in the original Zero Hour.
** One of his predecessors, President Kevin O'Connor, also gave a very optimistic speech during the foundation of the NAU in 2033. As expected from American leaders, they both end with a typical 'may God bless America' style phrase.
* SemperFi: The Vanguards are Marines. They carry [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter AA-12 Automatic Shotguns]] and a [[HyperspaceArsenal giant backpack]] which contains a [[TheTurretMaster sentry gun]], a rocket drone and a [[SuicideAttack kamikaze drone]].
* SpaceStation: The NAUSS ''Pennsylvania'', completed in 2034, is a testament to both American ingenuity and the freshly-established North American Union. It's also an {{Expy}} of GDI's ''Philadelphia'' space station from the Tiberium games.
* SpySatellite: One of their general powers.
* StanceSystem: The Strategy Center and Drone Control Center can select "Battleplans" and "Drone Protocols", which affect non-drone units and drone units, respectively. The stances are free to be switched at any time, though that takes a few seconds and disables all affected units to adjust.
** The Strategy Center can use "Bombardment", which increases unit attack power and equips with an artillery piece, "Hold the Line", which increases unit defence and improves its own armour (depicted as sandbags), and "Search & Destroy", which deploys scanners and improves unit weapon range.
** The Drone Control Center offers the "Hammer Protocol", "Shield Protocol" or "Spear Protocol", which increase damage, defence and range of American drones, respectively. However, the Control Center gains no bonus from this.
* SyntheticVoiceActor: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zigzagged]] depending on the unit. The Scout Drone uses lines recorded from a synthetic voice program. Hunter-Killer Drones were voiced by a human, then had robotic effects added. The rest of the drones use various beeps and boops or mechanical sounds instead.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Colonel Burton, the American commando. Uses a custom assault rifle with underslung grenade launcher, combat knives for stealth kills and can plant [=C4=] charges. Can climb mountains. Spouts snarky one-liners. All-around badass.
* TrickBomb: The Flashbang grenades and the Countermeasures upgrade may count.
* WaveMotionGun: The Particle Cannon, yet again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Global Liberation Army]]
* ActionBomb: Terrorists are the infantry version, Bomb Trucks and Demo Trucks (the latter an exclusive unit for General Yusuuf) are the vehicle versions. The Airstrip lets them deploy airborne kamikazes with the Suicide Bomber ability.
* AfricanTerrorists: The new GLA is mostly based in Central Africa, but have cells virtually everywhere in the Middle East, Asia, South America, and in one case even conducted a bombing in New York City.
* AfterTheEnd: The Middle East essentially found itself in this state after the Global War on Terror with entire nations having crumbled amidst the total free-for-all battle that was kicked off by the GLA. From what little is know, Iran was somehow involved in GLA bio-weapons research and destroyed the desalination facilities which provided the Arabian Peninsula with drinkable water while Israel walled itself in and every remaining country ended up balkanized, deformed or otherwise changed in some degree. Note that the use of weapons of mass destruction in this scenario seems probable even though it hasn't been stated nor denied. In 2033, the US President simply remarks that "the Middle East is ruined beyond all recovery".
* ArmorPiercingAttack: InNameOnly. The GLA can purchase AP Rockets and AP Bullets to increase the damage of... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, rockets and bullets]], but they don't actually ignore armor.
* AwesomePersonnelCarrier: The Battle Bus.
* BackFromTheBrink: The GLA were flattened during the events of ''Zero Hour'', and the Europeans and Chinese pursued them into their bases in Africa, driving them underground. ''Then'' General Deathstrike was assassinated, causing the factions to splinter, until Sulaymaan was able to pull the broken factions back together, covertly rebuild their power in Central Africa, and launch a sudden assault that drive the Russians, Europeans, and Chinese out of the continent and let him turn it into his base of operations.
* BaseOnWheels: They get their radar coverage, general powers and late-game tech from mobile Command Trucks.
* BlackMarket: Provides the GLA with income, upgrades, higher tier technologies and bounties for every kill. However, because of how extensive their Black Markets were and how easy this made it for their enemies to follow the money trail, the GLA is much more cagey about their black markets, represented in-game as limiting the number of Black Markets they can build to a single structure that can be upgraded to increase income, [[{{Nerf}} preventing the gamebreaking practice of just building a dozen Black Markets to make thousands of credits every few seconds]].
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Several groups banded under the GLA, if not the entirety of the organisation, come(s) across as this. For example, while they tolerate murder, poaching and illegal foresting is completely wrong.
* BombThrowingAnarchists: The GLA has Anarchists as infantry units, who throw pipe bombs, lay improvised mines and can blow up. On a wider scale, General Ibrahiim and his followers are also anarchistic [[AnarchyIsChaos for the sake of chaos]].
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Makes use of converted Cold War era weaponry with the occasional UsefulNotes/WorldWarII piece thrown in for good measure. Their main anti-infantry/anti-air defense is the [=DShK=] machine gun (replacing the machinegun used by the Tunnel Network), while their (rare) aircraft consist of retooled SU-17 fighters, ancient Bell 47 helicopters fitted with toxin sprayers, and [=MiG=]-15 and -17 bombers. The Suicide Bomber ability from the Airstrip lets them summon even older prop-driven aircraft to launch kamikaze attacks.
* BreakingTheFellowship: The GLA splintered after its leader Deathstrike was assassinated (presumably by the [[BadassIsraeli Mossad]]) and the other three leaders (Dr. Thrax, Prince Kassad, and General Juhziz) were killed, until [[DragonAscendant his former lieutenant Sulaymaan]] took over and strongarmed all the factions back together.
* ChainLightning: The Tesla Recycler can do this, unlike the Russian Tesla Tank.
* ColdSniper: Jarmen Kell. For his "fans", he is more of a [[{{Pun}} Cool Sniper]] though.
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: Sulaymaan's reinvigorated GLA, in addition to being a warped take on [[VideoGame/MetalGear Outer Heaven]], calls to mind what the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Second Tiberium War-era]] Brotherhood of Nod would be like without Kane's guidance.
* CoolBike: Combat Cycles, usually simply called "Bikes", are speedy if not very well armoured and allow almost every GLA infantry a quick ride. Additionally the bike adapts to the driver's weapons.
* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: PlayedWith. While the GLA openly operates in Africa, it nonetheless maintains a number of shell companies and fake movements, both to conduct business outside the black market, and to avoid drawing too ''much'' attention from the major powers.
* CuteAsABouncingBetty: Dushka may be phonetic for the massive [=DShK=] machine gun, but it also means 'Sweetie' in Russian.
* DarkestAfrica: Their main base of operations has shifted to war-ravaged Central Africa. The region is intentionally kept that way both to deter outsiders and as part of Sulaymaan's warped vision of a WarriorHeaven.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: It's possible to poison a building to death, although not very efficient for obvious reasons.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: The Toxin Shell upgrade.
* {{Determinator}}: The GLA was beaten down at least twice completely but resurrected again and again. While they have become less of a global threat in the 2040s, they are still incredibly dangerous if encountered.
* EnemyCivilWar: Occurred in Iran during the Global War On Terror when one radical faction of the government sought to integrate the country into the global war effort of the GLA whilst the more moderate faction wanted to fight against America and Saudi Arabia while still maintaining Iran's national independence. In the end, the war engulfed the entire Middle East with the Arabian peninsula severely [[BalkanizeMe balkanized]] and Iran replaced by a secular Republic of Persia.
* EvilGenius: Recyclers are this, with a dash of BunnyEarsLawyer, MadScientist '''and''' NerdInEvilsHelmet; they are competent engineers and scientists who for one spout countless pop-culture references and two salvage scrap from enemies and turn the stolen hardware into new, interesting and surprisingly effective weapons, often with some BlackComedy thrown in for good measure (for example, the Microwave Recycler's deathray uses an ''actual'' microwave oven and one recycled drone type uses a beer crate to hold its bomb).
* {{Expy}}: the GLA proto-nation set up by Sulaymaan in Africa is a haven for warriors and soldiers seeking to strike back at their oppressors and enemies, and where strength of arms is a defining aspect of one's place in society. it is, essentially, a warrior's heaven - in other words, it's a gritty, un-romanticized take on [[VideoGame/MetalGear Outer Heaven]].
* FactionCalculus: Subversive, with an emphasis on guerrilla tactics and stealth. In ''Zero Hour'' the GLA was able to evolve into a Horde faction with the right setup of buildings, but in ''Rise of the Reds'' there is much more of an emphasis on their stealth and surprise elements, including HitAndRunTactics to let them kill enemy units and escape before retaliation can arrive.
* FightingForAHomeland: The Partisans are described as veteran insurgents that constantly shift in and out of the [=GLA's=] ranks because they fight to protect their ancestral homelands against the global superpowers. In a way, this makes them one of the more sympathetic groups within the GLA, reminiscent of Afghan fighters in 1980s portrayals.
* HandicappedBadass: Jarmen Kell lost half his right hand in an IED accident, but his sniping skills are still deadly accurate.
* HatedByAll: Disdain for the GLA's existence is among the few things all the ''other'' factions can agree on without hesitation.
* HitAndRunTactics: Although all factions can do this to some extent, this is the GLA's specialty.
* HollywoodAcid: Toxin weapons can, by virtue of ScratchDamage, kill vehicles and buildings.
* HonorBeforeReason: While it's ''really'' stretching the term "honor," the GLA's attack on Europe is this. Sure, it had ''no real chance'' of succeeding, yet they still did it anyway just because they could.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The "modern" GLA remains this in droves. At first, they scream incessantly about oppression, imperialism and how just they are. Other comments, however, underscore that they're basically ill-tempered, sadistic, sociopathic low-lifes to a man. Except for the lowly Workers, who are some of the single most hilariously down-trodden, abused schmucks in gaming history.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Jarmen Kell.
* IncrediblyObviousBomb: Bomb Trucks when not camouflaged, Terrorists and their bomb vests (when not wearing stealth clothes).
* InstantDeathRadius: Exploded Bomb Trucks with toxin payloads have this as long as the wreckage is intact.
* InvisibilityCloak: Available in the form of camo-nets for defences, camoflage for infantry and GPS Scramblers for everything else. When combined this means that apart from 3 exceptions (Workers and both air units) the ''entire army'' can be stealth.
* ImprovisedWeapon: A whole lot. Special note goes to Recyclers, trucks that recycle scrap off the battlefield and turn it into new technologies.
* KnightTemplar: The GLA may or may not have had noble goals once but they have always resorted to very violent, often insane ways to "fight oppressors."
* LandmineGoesClick: Their Demo Traps. Though they make an iconic beep rather than "click".
* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: Subverted. The GLA's mentioned as exploiting Russia's war on Europe by pushing into North Africa amidst the chaos. Unfortunately for them, the ECA-backed Mahgreb Union manages to thwart their invasion, while much of the Arab world is similarly hostile to the prospect of the GLA ever coming back.
* MacheteMayhem: Mercenary Runners use this weapon, which boosts their speed and health. They can also switch to a shotgun, forgoing the benefits in favour of much higher range.
* MadBomber: Their Terrorists and other suicide units.
* MiddleEasternCoalition: During the Global War On Terror, the GLA had shades of this with individual states in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa openly supporting what was essentially a non-state actor. Inverted after the war with the setting's actual MEC, the Middle Eastern Council, which was established in an effort to coordinate humanitarian relief and peacekeeping operations and seems to be more anti-GLA than anything else, considering what a colossal mess Deathstrike and his bunch left in the Middle East. Meanwhile, what remains of the Middle Eastern GLA cells are represented by General Yusuuf.
* MolotovCocktail: The Angry Mob and Rebels have them.
* MolotovTruck: Much like the infantry version, the GLA has had such vehicles since the original game. In ''Rise of the Reds'', they have in fact several:
** Bomb Trucks are big dump trucks filled with explosives, which can also alternatively be upgraded with even better explosives or an anthrax payload. The latter has the benefit of remaining on the field as a leaking wreckage after the explosion, which provides an InstantDeathRadius that can only be removed by destroying the wreck. Bomb Trucks can also be upgraded with tech stolen from enemies via Recyclers, which means either adding fuel canisters and the like to add [[KillItWithFire a firestorm effect]] or improvised explosive devices, which in practice means spreading a mine field around after the explosion. Finally, Bomb Trucks can steal nuclear material to gain nuclear payloads, which replace the original one with one of four possible nuclear bombs:
*** ''Dirty bomb'', achieved by stealing any non-specific nuclear material.
*** ''Tactical nuclear warhead'', by stealing from a Chinese Breeder Reactor or Nuclear Missile.
*** ''MIRV warhead'', by stealing from a loaded Russian Topol-M or loaded Missile Silo.
*** ''Neutron warhead'', by stealing from a Pandora or Research Facility upgraded with the Pandora Protocol.
** General Yusuuf has Demo Trucks in addition to the known Bomb Trucks. Demo Trucks are speedy Technicals outfitted with explosives and loaded with Demo Traps, that can either be used to boost the explosion or be dropped to function like the Worker-build version as a roadside bomb. With stolen Recycler tech, they can additionally alternatively be outfitted with small gas canisters for some additional damage or improvised explosive devices, which means spreading a minefield around after the explosion happened.
* MotiveDecay: One wonders if they have actual motives anymore, let alone if they even ''had'' any to begin with.
* MoralMyopia: Subverted. For all their talk of being the just ones, they're by and large hypocritical, opportunistic warlords.
* MoreDakka: The GLA believe that any problem can be solved by firing enough missiles at it.
* MultipleLifeBars: Their buildings due to the Hole mechanic. Battle Busses and Toxin Bomb Trucks also leave wreckages that have to be completely destroyed.
* {{Nerf}}: The Black Market, which could be spammed endlessly in ''Zero Hour'' to produce massive amounts of money and thus create an endless horde of units. In ''Rise of the Reds'', only one can be built at a time, though it can be upgraded twice to increase its income. This means that while the GLA can have a steady source of income in the late game, they have to be more selective with their unit usage and emphasize stealth and surprise rather than spamming hordes of tanks and other cheap units.
* NGOSuperpower: They started out as a loose band of Central Asian tribal fighters, nationalists and mercenaries, got injected with the manpower, assets and fanaticism of a Middle Eastern terrorist army and went to on challenge both China and America. In the process, the GLA managed to take temporary control of large parts of Central Asia and the Middle East, received outright support from parts of the Iranian government and possibly Russia, kicked off a total war that destroyed the entire region and eventually went out in one final attack that smashed the European Union. Under Sulaymaan's rule, they have actually attained certain traits of a state actor due to their permanent presence in Central Africa and their ability to operate on the international oil market, although they are yet to receive any sort of recognition as an actual country which, knowing their track record, seems unlikely.
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Among the GLA's ranks are a number of Partisans and African mercenary units, which are only aligned with them either because of [[EnemyMine mutual foes]] or [[OnlyInItForTheMoney a paycheck]]. Tahar Ibrahiim and his clique, meanwhile, barely pay lip service to the rest of the GLA and are far more preoccupied with achieving their own extreme anarchist causes.
* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Their motive... possibly.
* OneHitKill: Jarmen Kell's Stinger launcher uses special warheads that cannot be fooled or destroyed by anything which means that, provided nothing happens to be in the way, any air unit(s) hit by it will 100% certainly die.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney[=/=]HiredGuns: The GLA can hire pricey if potent African mercenaries, who aren't particular about who they're killing so long as they're paid.
* OrganizationWithUnlimitedFunding: The GLA makes an enormous amount of money via illegal arms sales, black market trading of resources, organized crime, hijacking, piracy, kidnapping, and other unsavory dealings. This is represented by the Black Market and its various upgrades in-game.
* PhantomThief: Hijackers.
* PlugNPlayTechnology: Their vehicles can salvage battlefield debris and add them to their weapons. Exaggerated by their Recycler trucks, which can mount weapons straight out of the Westwood era of C&C.
* PoisonedWeapons: They shoot poison streams like other factions use liquids in flamethrowers and can upgrade tank and artillery shells with poison. They can also fire missiles with gas warheads. To top it all, they can research the upgrade Anthrax Beta which improves the lethality of their poison weapons even further.
* PostPeakOil: Said to have happened in the late 2030s. The GLA controls some of the last remaining deposits in Central Africa, making their front companies a noteworthy force on the global market.
* TheRemnant: General Yusuuf represents the more conservative, Middle Eastern elements of the GLA that survived the events of ''Zero Hour'' as the "Brotherhood of the White Falcon". Despite strong disagreements over Sulaymaan deviating from the movement's traditionalist tenets, they remain loyal and relatively influential.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: They pull dick moves to the point where YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters is barely in effect anymore:
** Juhziz, the bomb-maker general from the original game, died detonating a nuclear weapon in the middle of Germany at the end of the events of ''Zero Hour'', purely out of spite.
** Tahar Ibrahiim got his start with the GLA by proving himself to Deathstrike via raiding a German pharmaceutical corporation and dumping tons of toxic waste and poisonous chemicals into the Lower Rhine and causing one of the worst ecological disasters in history.
* TheScrounger: The GLA is able to upgrade their vehicles with scrap left behind by enemy units since the original game. This mechanic has been expanded by the Recyclers, trucks which can take marked scrap crates in and unlock new technologies for themselves and other GLA units.
* SnipingTheCockpit: Subverted; Jarmen Kell was able to do this in the original game but cannot do it anymore after an improvised explosive mangled his right hand. To make up for it, he can use a modified Stinger missile launcher to score a OneHitKill against enemy air units.
* StealthBasedGame: When you play as them.
* StolenGoodReturnedBetter: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Recyclers, who steal enemy technology, improve upon it and then only give parts of it back - [[BlackComedy specifically, the ammo]].
* SuicideAttack: Terrorists and Bomb Trucks.
* TechnicolorToxin: Anthrax comes in the standard green flavour as well as Anthrax Beta, which is blue.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Between the traditionalist Yusuuf, the anarchist Ibrahiim and visionary Sulaymaan, there's a lot of simmering tension within the GLA. It's held together, however, by mutual interests and Sulaymaan's strongarm rule keeping the cliques from turning on each other.
* TerroristsWithoutACause: Went from crypto-religious fundamentalism and pan-Arab/pan-Turkic nationalism to "anything goes as long as it justifies violence against the enemy of the day."
* TubeTravel: Their tunnel network system, now much expanded.
* TunnelKing: See above, natch.
* UniversalPoison: Anthrax is inexplicably this.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: It is possible to buy shoes for all the Workers in the army via upgrade. Doing so boosts their speed and efficiency at collecting money by 10%.
* VisionaryVillain: Years after the events of ''Zero Hour'', Sulaymaan gives the GLA the closest thing it has to a cohesive ideal. Namely, as a haven for warriors and soldiers seeking to strike back at their oppressors and enemies, and where strength of arms is a defining aspect of one's place in society.
* WeAreEverywhere: Downplayed. While the bulk of the GLA's operations remain in Africa, its reach could be felt as far as Wall Street through covert terrorist attacks, shell companies and fake social campaigns.
* WeaponizedCar: The GLA vehicles are almost exclusively this, from Pickup trucks to tractors to even more trucks and motor cycles.
* WorkerUnit: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Worker]]. Whereas every other faction uses dedicated vehicles for construction and logistics, the GLA only has slave workers even though they have plenty of vehicles that would realistically be able to carry supplies.
* WretchedHive: Central Africa under GLA rule, in addition to being a warped WarriorHeaven.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Considering their attitude, the question is: Whose?
* ZergRush: Angry Mobs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:People's Republic of China]]
* ActionGirl: While Black Lotus does not attack enemies with weapons, she none-the-less can potentially capture an entire enemy base by herself if not detected, as well as steal money or disable bothersome vehicles. She also happens to be the only hero infantry that can detect stealth units.
* AnachronismStew: Their overall aesthetic is the result of giving various Cold War-era (and even World War II) tactics and strategies a modernized update.
* AttackAttackAttack: Their Modus Operandi.
* AwesomePersonnelCarrier: The Troop Crawler, as well as its armed Red Army variant, the Assault Crawler.
* BayonetYa: Red Guards can do this.
* BottomlessMagazines: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the Gattling Tank.
* CannonFodder: In addition to the diminutive [[LethalJokeCharacter Hopper Tanks]], the Chinese can deploy Volunteer Squads, which make the humble Red Guards look elite by comparison. Masses of raw recruits armed with rockets, cheap guns, and minimal training, they're explicitly intended to bolster the PLA's ranks, and serve as glorified meat shields if necessary.
* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. They merely use their post-Zero Hour prestige to [[IncrediblyLamePun shanghai]] several other Asian countries into a hegemony and proceed to occupy large parts of Africa.
* CoolAirship: The Propaganda Airship, which is equipped with reinforced armor and anti-ground guns to protect itself.
* TheCracker: Black Lotus and the Hackers.
* DefectorFromDecadence: 'Michael Deng' was trained as a hacker and helped the [[StateSec Ministry of State Security]] to hunt down alleged dissenters in South East Asia. He eventually got sick of it and used his abilities to hand out exit permits for many locals before he fled as well.
* DestructiveSavior: The Chinese liberation of central Europe during the GLA war was a total mess, with entire cities worth of collateral damage. This was after the Europeans talked them out of just ''nuking everything''.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: The Depleted Uranium Shells upgrade.
* TheEmpire: China has shades of this, with American media describing the Chinese-influenced GAPA as being under an oppressive shadow.
* EnemyMine: Despite tensions with its old American rivals, China still remains friendly with the resurgent United States, finding common cause in deterring both the Russians and GLA.
* FactionCalculus: The Horde.
* FictionalPoliticalParty: Since the Chinese are no longer even trying to pass for socialists or communists during the mod's timeframe, the story only ever refers to their leadership as 'The Party' in both character dialogue and official statements which invokes [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]].
* FireBreathingWeapon: Flamethrowers are used by the Pyro Technician, Dragon Tank and Shenlong Tank.
* FluffyTheTerrible: The diminutive Hopper Tank.
* GamerChick: The pilots of the Twin Fangs are implied to be this, given that they joke about their vehicles secretly having a code for unlimited ammo and shout "Game Over for you!" as one of their battle-cries.
* GatlingGood: China has mobile Gattling Tanks, stationary base defences and some other mounted weapons like the upgrade for Overlord Tanks. Their flak weapons have this effect: Their effect is instantaneous and they cannot miss. Enemy aircraft basically fly straight into a brick wall upon entering an area with multiple Twinfangs. Amusingly, this makes China's seemingly obsolete flak weapons some of the most effective and reliable anti-air weapons in the entire game, however this is at the exchange of having the worst range of all the Advanced Anti-Air units.
* GoingCritical: Chinese Nuclear Reactors, Breeder Reactors, Nuke Silos and all tanks upgraded with nuclear engines explode violently when destroyed. Researching Isotope Stability stops the tanks, but not the structures, from exploding.
* HegemonicEmpire: The Greater Asian Peoples Alliance, in practice, is a glorified network of vassals fully subordinated to China.
* ImpossibleThief: Black Lotus can be this with her Capture Building and Cash Hack abilities.
* ImpressivePyrotechnics: China is arguably the best at this. Just drop some napalm, nukes, ECM and EMP bombs in the same area and watch the amazing fireworks.
* KillerRabbit: The diminutive Hopper Tank.
* KillItWithFire: In the interest of theme diversity, China is the only faction that makes extensive use of incendiary agents which are delivered via a variety shells, bombs, rockets and good old fashioned flamethrowers. Their napalm not only damages the target, but a massed volley of creates a firestorm which rages on for several seconds for which the affected area turns into a massive killzone. The [[TechnicolorFire Black Napalm]] upgrade makes their flame weapons even more potent.
* LandmineGoesClick: Now with an updated in-game model. Subverted in that they simply explode rather than beep first.
* LethalJokeCharacter: The Chinese Hopper Tank is a light, paper-thin, weakly armed tankette vehicle with a comically oversized turret reminiscent of the iconic tank from Metal Slug. It is also very fast, dirt cheap, produced in twos, benefits from all the important upgrades and can overwhelm any other, more expensive tank through [[ZergRush sheer numbers]]. And once upgraded with nuclear engines, can double as makeshift CannonFodder bombs.
* LightningBruiser: The Overlord tank may be well armoured and heavily armed but it also becomes obscenely fast for a super-heavy tank once upgraded with nuclear engines.
* MillionMookMarch: Favorite pastime of China.
* MoreDakka: The re-explained Chain Gun upgrade gives Gat''t''ling weapons an even higher rate of fire.
* NukeEm: China's MO. They did ditch those nasty neutron weapons though.
* OrganizationWithUnlimitedFunding: Just where do those Hackers get all that money from? [[spoiler:Probably ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' [[RealMoneyTrade gold farming]]]].
* PatrioticFervor: China really loves marching, singing and waving flags. Further reinforced in-game given how the Nationalism upgrade amplifies horde bonuses.
* PropagandaMachine: Both as an in-game mechanic and as a regular narrative device in China-themed story updates. Remember that a single Battlemaster can destroy three, even five enemy tanks by itself. No, really!
* RealMoneyTrade: One of the many ideas where Hackers get money from is gold farming [=MMOs=].
* RedChina: Subverted. By 2030, they don't even try to pass for communists anymore, instead running a society built around technocratic state capitalism, ancient philosophy, Asian nationalism and dystopian state-worship.
* SlapOnTheWristNuke: Played with. It's stronger than the normal ZH nuke but still much weaker than any real strategic warhead.
* SchizoTech: They use plenty of sophisticated EMP and ECM weapons while at the same time putting compact nuclear reactors on their crypto Type 59 tanks while their infantry weapons and tactics have somehow devolved to the 1950s.
* StateSec: Despite all the reforms and liberalizations, ''something'' is definitely going on beneath the surface.
* SpaceStation: Like the North American Union, China runs its own space station, the East Star, which claimed to be supposed to become even bigger than its American counterpart
* TankGoodness: China's other MO.
* TakeThat: The original mispronunciation "Gattling" is still used as a jab at modern China's track record in the copyright department.
* TechnicolorFire: The Black Napalm upgrade turns all flame weapons from orange to bright purple. There is even a bit of FridgeBrilliance to that, since purple really is more energetic than orange.
* TrickBomb: The Banshee ECM tank can deflect enemy missiles. Chinese ECM tech in general is designed primarily to neutralize missiles. This could also explain why their anti-tank/aircraft weaponry have reverted to flak-based munitions.
* VideogameFlamethrowersSuck: Subverted; their flamethrowers are generally very good.
* WarfareRegression: As a consequence of extensive EMP and ECM system development, China's military has reverted to using flak-based munitions and modernized Cold War designs.
* WeHaveReserves: Related to ZergRush below. While the Chinese don't blindly throw men at enemies, they nonetheless have a lot of manpower at their disposal.
* WildCard: While China is nominally neutral in the war between Russia and the ECA, everyone keeps an eye on Beijing over which side the Party will support.
* ZergRush: What most of their tactics boil down to. Exemplified by their Volunteer Squads which are explicitly stated to be cannon fodder and taken to extremes with General Chen of the Red Army. [[http://generalsrotr.wikia.com/wiki/Rise_Of_The_Reds_Wiki The Wiki Page]] for [=RotR=] has blurbs on strategy for each faction on their respective pages, listing tactics they excel at and and ways to counter them. What does it say about the Chinese?
--> '''Tactics''': Spam... Overwhelm the enemy...
--> '''Counters''': Ammo... Lots and lots of ammo...
[[/folder]]

** Even into the 2040s, the Americans still deploy the B-52 Stratofortress and M1 Abrams (as the Paladin Tank), both of which have been upgraded to keep up with the times. This is also justified due to the post-''Zero Hour'' isolationism and economic downturn forcing the US to substantially cut costs in military R&D, thus forcing the Americans to rely more on refurbishing older hardware.

* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: Subverted. The GLA's mentioned as exploiting Russia's war on Europe by pushing into North Africa amidst the chaos. Unfortunately for them, the ECA-backed Mahgreb Union manages to thwart their invasion, while the bulk of the Arab world is similarly hostile to prospect of the GLA coming back.

* BackFromTheBrink: The GLA were flattened during the events of ''Zero Hour'', and the Europeans and Chinese pursued them into their bases in Africa, driving them underground. ''Then'' General Deathstrike was assassinated, causing the factions to splinter, until Sulaymaan was able to pull the broken factions back together, covertly rebuild their power in Africa, and launch a sudden assault that drive the Russians, Europeans, and Chinese out of the continent and let him turn it into his base of operations.

** At first, it seems a little odd that [[TankGoodness Tank Command]] General Bradley has a [[SemperFi Marine background]] when the US Army is generally known as the heavier ground branch. It does make sense when you consider that the United States make a late and limited entry in the Russo-European War, not wanting to get caught up in an endless war of attrition. As a result, most of their frontline units in Europe would be Marine Expeditionary Forces, which could deploy across the Atlantic much faster than the Army, complete with their own tank units. It is entirely fair to assume that the bulk of the US Army still uses the [=M1A4=] Paladin tank back home as well. The other American Generals add to this too, with Air Force General Griffon providing air support and Army General Thorn coordinating joint special forces operations.

** China's strong emphasis on flak munitions and shells, almost to the exclusion of missiles and lasers, is a consequence of its military's extensive use of ECM and EMP-based equipment.
** The limited air fleets of Russia, the ECA, and the GLA reflect their difficulty in acquiring aircraft. For Russia, economic woes make it hard to field advanced fighter aircraft and requires special authorization. For the ECA, much of the air fleets of the continental states were destroyed early on in the war, so the only jets they have access to are British Harriers, which require special authorization to deploy. And while both the ECA and Russia can field helicopters without spending General points, the GLA only has access to ramshackle aircraft to begin with, and fielding ''any'' aircraft, whether helicopters or planes, requires significant investment via General points.

* DumbMuscle: Panzerfaust soldiers seem rather dim-witted, speaking slowly and being mainly concerned with the fact their guns are really heavy, in both senses of the word.

** As a whole, thet're this to the Soviets from ''[[Red Alert VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'' due to their gratituous use of Tesla technology as well as super-heavy tanks.

* {{Expy}}: To the ''VideoGame/RedAlert'' Soviets.

* WhatAnIdiot: In-universe. Shortly after the Global War on Terror, US intelligence agencies and political pundits claimed that [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld China would take over the world]] and that Russia's new President Suvorov was really just an ineffectual mouth-piece of the ex-Soviet elites; the same elites which he actually abolished and destroyed.

* FixFic: Many updates went into great lengths to make more sense of the rather thoughtless story of Generals, particularly the very implausible "GLA invasion" of Europe in Zero Hour.

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: Sulaymaan's reinvigorated GLA, in addition to being a warped take on [[Franchise/MetalGear Outer Heaven]], calls to mind what the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Second Tiberium War-era]] Brotherhood of Nod would be like without Kane's guidance.

* {{Expy}}: the GLA proto-nation set up by Sulaymaan in Africa is a haven for warriors and soldiers seeking to strike back at their oppressors and enemies, and where strength of arms is a defining aspect of one's place in society. it is, essentially, a warrior's heaven - in other words, it's a gritty, un-romanticized take on [[Franchise/MetalGear Outer Heaven]].

* CovertGroupWithAMundaneFront: PlayedWith. While the GLA openly operates in Africa, it nonetheless maintains a number of shell companies and fake movements, both to conduct business outside the black market, and to avoid gaining too ''much'' attention from the major powers.

* DarkestAfrica: Their main base of operations has shifted to here.

* BoringButPractical: In contrast to the generals of the other factions, who all have some sort of distinctive niche and easily recognizable specialization, the generals of the USA simply specialize in the three basic types of units, aircraft, land vehicles, and infantry, with their gameplay focused around this.

* CompositeCharacter: They're based off of the Allies from the Red Alert Series, but have the attributes of every version of them showcased in all 3 games. They're composed exclusively out of European countries and their airforce consisting almost exclusively out of helicopters brings to mind their portrayal in the original ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert]]'', while some of their units are similar to the ones that they had in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'', such as their Jumpjet Troopers and the Pandur IFV being similar to the Rocketeers and the IFV. Their use of Cryo technology also brings to mind their incarnation in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'', which featured the Allies using similar weaponry in the form of the Cryocopter, the Cryo series of Top Secret Protocols, and, in ''Uprising'', the Cryo Legionnaires.

* MythologyGag: The United States and Canada build a next-generation space station named the ''Pennsylvania'', after the GDI space station from the ''Tiberium'' series. It even uses the same picture of the station from ''Tiberium Wars''.

* WhereAreTheyNow: Occasionally thrown in for the Generals of the original game. [[EnergyWeapon Townes]] [[FaceHeelTurn mutinied]] against the closure of his laser projects and was arrested by one of his own men, Granger was demoted after taking the fall for the atrocious performance of the Aurora Bomber, [[TankGoodness Kwai]] and [[NukeEm Tao]] went into retirement with Tao still being alive to comment on (and justify) the [[NuclearOption European nuclear attacks]] in 2048. [[BonusBoss Leang]] was seemingly discharged after an [[NoodleIncident 'excessive public scandal']] and her unit was taken over by Mau. [[DeadlyGas Dr.]] [[MadScientist Thrax]] was presumably killed in the original campaign, [[UselessUsefulStealth Prince Kassad]] betrayed the GLA again and got personally executed by Sulaymaan and [[MadBomber Juhziz]] was ordered to stay behind to eradicate [[NukeEm Hamburg with a nuclear bomb]], killing himself and [[ZergRush Fai]] in the process. Alexander's fate is still unknown, though it was revealed she took part in a Second Korean War in 2018, as well as a conflict in Taiwan several months later.

** The Conscripts count as this as well. Their EXTREMELY cheap and price efficent as well for what they're worth, and their upgrades are also extremely effective as well, as they get the ability to heal themselves, detect stealthed units, and fire for longer bursts from the medkits, infrared goggles, and advanced munitions respectively. Plus, killing them only makes them more effective due to their universal ability to get stronger whenever a comrade of theirs falls in battle.

* BoringYetPractical: [[SovietSuperscience Post-Soviet Superscience]] aside, a good deal of which is under General Aleksandr's control, the bulk of the Russian arsenal is comprised of updated variants of both contemporary and Cold War-era equipment, reflecting a preference for rugged, tried-and-tested designs. These nonetheless prove to be effective enough against Russia's ostensibly more technologically advanced foes.

** The ''Manticore'' tank, SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Maus'' in-universe and the Mammoth Tank out of it, is emblematic of the ECU's sheer "do not want" towards being conquered by Russia.

* EnergyWeapon: They use lasers of the anti-air, point-defence and targeting variety.

* SuperPrototype: The Venom units, which are PurposelyOverpowered and border on becoming HumongousMecha compared to the upgraded infantry.

* FlawedPrototype: General Townes' laser projects last seen in ''Zero Hour'' are implied to have been this. The out-of-control R&D spending and power-hungry hardware involved with said projects proved too unsustainable as the then-isolationist government sought to implement budget cuts.

* CoolAirship: The Propaganda Airship.

** Many of the ECA's upgrades and unlockable units, including the [[SuperPrototype Venoms]], are all but stated to be the result of experimental projects being hastily refitted for mass-production and front line service in the face of the Russian onslaught.

---> "You wanted the best... [[BadassBoast so here we are.]]"

** Later updates introduced the Elite Blackbear tank, which is basically a Sentinel tank on steroids. Not only is it's armor and firepower greater than the standard, it has a faster rate of fire, comes pre-equipped with ''both'' the Arena and missiles upgrades, carries the same Shtora Defense system as Golem tanks, and (as an encore) can fire Thermobaric shells.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees:
** Russia's Cold War-era Perimetr system, which is reactivated and upgraded under President Suvorov's orders after the ECA [[NuclearOption halts the Russian advance with nuclear warheads]]. Not only is Perimetr, also known as "Dead Hand" a real failsafe intended to guarantee full nuclear retalliation in the event of a decapitation strike, it's suspected to still be operational in RealLife long after the Soviet Union's end.
** The USA's use of seemingly dated aircraft like the A-10 Thunderbolt II and B-52 Stratofortress well into the 2040s is based on actual plans by the Pentagon to keep them airborne and up-to-date for the coming decades.

* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: PlayedWith. While their buildings are primarily a black color and their official color is a dull maroon, and some of their units and members are certainly evil and unhinged, such as Aleksandr and his subordinates, other members are either just loyal to Russia and not actually malevolent at all.

* NuclearWeaponsTaboo: In-universe, all factions except the GLA are nuclear powers, yet only China actually uses their nukes on a regular basis, the ECA deployed theirs as a last resort and the only Russian General with limited access to nuclear missiles is Zhukov. The USA, meanwhile, are quite conflicted about using nuclear weapons, in equal measure for historical reasons, seeing how China is overly liberal with them and due their doctrine on trying to prevent collateral damage via focus on precision weapons. In fact, a bit of lore on the wiki stated that the American and Russian presidents said over the Washington-Moscow Hotline that neither had the heart to launch their ICBMs against each other (though major American population centers are still evacuated and a massive amount of anti-missile killsats are being launched from Cape Canaveral in record time). On the other hand, the GLA are capable of ''stealing'' nuclear warheads with Bomb Trucks, turning these suicide units into ''nuclear'' suicide units similar to their incarnation in the ''Red Alert'' games.