Commander!

The big temple Weyland unearthed is only the primary site of a much larger complex. Using new detection technology, we’re locating many smaller structures scattered around Zandia!

Excavation Sites are new places on the Map that contain valuable caches of Artifacts. You can capture them and harvest these Artifacts with AVP Units. The number of Artifacts you can gather from an Excavation Site depends on the overall carrying capacity of the Defensive AVP Units you have stationed there.

Capturing Excavation Sites:

You will need BOTH Offensive and Defensive Troops to Capture an Excavation Site, but the Defensive Units you send will NOT engage in the battle. All surviving Offensive Units will be automatically returned to your Bunker.

Holding Excavation Sites and Collecting Artifacts:

If you successfully capture the Excavation Site, Defensive Units will start gathering Artifacts there. The number of Artifacts that they can gather and load depends on their carrying capacity. The more Defensive Units you send, and the bigger their carrying capacity, the more Artifacts you can collect!

If an enemy launches an attack, defeats your forces and takes control of the Excavation Site, all surviving Units will return to your Base with as many Artifacts they were able to collect before the Site was taken.

You can view the information on Excavation Sites you hold under the “Excavation Sites” tab at the Command Center.

Consult your Field Manual for detailed instructions on collecting Artifacts from Excavation Sites.

Be advised:

-You must build the Radar in your Base in order to detect Excavation Sites.

-You must build the Airfield in your Base in order to Recon Excavation Sites.

-You can only send Reinforcements to Excavation Sites you hold.

-You may NOT send Joint Attacks to Capture or Attack an Excavation Site.

-If you send Offensive and Defensive forces to Attack (not Capture) an Excavation Site, all Units will participate in the attack. It is therefore not recommended to send Defensive Forces on Attack missions.

-Initially, you can hold a maximum of 3 Excavation Sites at a time, as indicated by the number of "M37 Transport Vehicles" you possess. To increase the number of Excavation Sites you can hold, visit the Training Center and upgrade "Maximum Depots and Excavation Sites" to Level 30.

Good luck, Commander!