What is the first thing I should build in Defilade?

A factory and a research building are the core of the demo build. Build them close enough to your supply line to be defended, then add a FOB toward the capture point you want to hold.

Why does manpower run out in Defilade?

The developer changed the economy so manpower is finite and capture points matter. You cannot sit on your starting area and out-produce the enemy; you have to take and hold points.

What happens if I lose my last FOB?

The developer says losing your last Forward Operating Base is game over. FOBs are also where troops resupply and where your unit cap comes from.

How do supply trucks work?

Completed FOBs connect to friendly lines by roads used by supply trucks. If the road is cut or the trucks are ambushed, the FOB stops being supplied.

Defilade Beginner Guide — First Match, Manpower, Capture Points and Base Building

The first-match loop

Defilade soldiers advancing across a snow-covered battlefield with tanks and infantry — Screenshot © RBGames (official Steam store media)

Defilade is not a game where you build one big base and turtle. The developer’s own summary is that manpower runs out, so capture points matter, and your army lives or dies on supply lines. The loop is:

Capture points generate the manpower you need.
Manpower pays for units and buildings.
Factories and research buildings turn that into an army and upgrades.
FOBs extend your unit cap, resupply troops and hold ground.
Supply trucks run roads from your lines to the FOBs; if the road is cut, the FOB is cut off.
Squads fight cover to cover; you give broad orders, and the soldiers handle the tactical layer.

If you skip step 1, you run out of manpower. If you skip step 5, your forward units dry up. If you lose your last FOB, you lose the match.

Opening build order

The exact costs are not public yet, so this is a priority order rather than a build-order clock:

Factory — the steel-hangar factory is your unit production. Build it first or second.
Research building — the satellite-dish research building unlocks upgrades. The developer’s October 22 post shows it in the demo build.
Barracks / infantry production — you need bodies to hold a capture point.
FOB toward the contested point — do not build it in your starting corner. A FOB is only useful if it is near the ground you want to hold.
Defenses around the FOB — trenches, wire, mines and tank traps buy time while your squads move.
Second FOB — once the first is stable, extend again. Do not over-extend before the supply road is safe.

Manpower and capture points

The demo changed the economy: manpower is finite, so the player who holds more capture points can replace losses and the player who does not will run dry. That makes capture points the real objective, not the enemy’s starting base.

Practical rules:

Take the closest capture point first, then the next one; do not leapfrog.
Put a FOB near the point you want to keep, not at your spawn.
Defend the road between your FOB and your main line; that is where supply trucks drive.
If the enemy is raiding your trucks, the AI commander is doing exactly what it was built to do — guard yours and raid theirs.

Supply lines

A completed FOB connects to friendly lines by roads used by supply trucks. If the road is cut, ambushed or the trucks are destroyed, the FOB stops being supplied. That means:

keep a cheap infantry squad near the road;
do not put every unit at the front;
when you attack, attack the enemy’s road, not only his units;
a FOB without supply is a trap, not an asset.

Orders you should use

The October 22 update added two orders that matter most:

ATTACK MOVE — move and fight on the way; use it when you expect contact.
SECURE AREA — take and hold a position; use it on capture points and FOBs.

Also confirmed: squads can be picked with number keys, Shift-click adds to a selection, Q/E turns the camera, drag sets which way your tanks face, and waypoints let you queue a route. Use waypoints to move through cover instead of clicking once and watching the squad walk through the open.

Mistakes that lose matches

Turtling at spawn. Manpower is finite; if you do not take points, you fall behind.
Building a FOB in the wrong place. A FOB at your spawn does nothing for the front.
Ignoring the supply road. The enemy AI raids supply trucks; if you do not guard the road, your FOB dies.
Trickling units in. Squads fight better together and split into fire teams; send a group, not one squad at a time.
Not using cover. Soldiers find cover themselves, but they still die in the open. Move cover to cover with waypoints.
Forgetting medics. Wounded soldiers can be rescued and healed; a squad with a medic keeps its veterans.

What to practice in the demo

One match where you only take capture points and build FOBs, to learn the economy.
One match where you only defend the supply road, to see how the AI raids.
One match where you use ATTACK MOVE and SECURE AREA instead of right-clicking.

The demo lands on December 1, 2026; Early Access is December 15. We will add exact costs, build times and unit counters after testing the demo.

Defilade beginner guide