Ashes of the Singularity II UEF Guide: Start Framework

Start every UEF match with the barracks placed as close as possible to the next region you intend to conquer, then queue durantium extractors at your HQ region immediately after. That is the opening a playtest player lays out in a how-to-play video for the UEF faction, and it works because durantium funds every tier 1 unit the faction has. This Ashes of the Singularity II UEF guide turns that opening into a full starting framework for the United Earth Forces — humanity's faction in the campaign, built on numbers, combined arms and out-producing the enemy.

Prerequisites: what the UEF is and where you play it

The UEF is one of three factions in Ashes of the Singularity II, alongside the Post-Human Coalition and the AI Substrate. According to the official Steam page, the game launches November 10, 2026 on Windows, with a single-player campaign, instant action against AI opponents, and PvP or co-op multiplayer. In campaign you play as a UEF Commanding Officer; in skirmish and multiplayer you can pick any faction.

Know the faction's design identity before the first unit spawns. Stardock's own material describes the UEF as outmatched in technology and weaker unit for unit than the PHC or Substrate, relying on large armies, disciplined infantry and millennia of accumulated military doctrine. Your plan is never to win a straight quality race — it is to have more replaceable formations in the right place at the right time. Stardock also stresses that the game rewards logistics, planning and terrain over reflexes, which shapes everything below.

Step-by-step: the UEF opening

1. Drop the barracks toward your next target

   The barracks is always your first unit production building. Place it as close as possible to the region you plan to take next so new infantry arrive at the front instead of walking across the map.

2. Queue durantium extractors at HQ

   Right after the barracks, queue durantium extractors in your HQ's region. Every tier 1 UEF unit — infantry and tanks — costs durantium, so this is your early economy lifeline.

3. Reinforce your starting army

   Your opening army is strong enough to take the first nearby region alone but gets depleted doing it. Tick the reinforcement option in the army's UI (on the left side, or its icon at the bottom) so the barracks automatically refills it. Keep the army alive rather than disbanding it for a new one: armies earn experience levels and medals that raise HP and movement speed, and destroying an army throws those bonuses away.

4. Expand and strip your build down to durantium (optionally)

   On taking a new region, resource buildings come first. If you are not teching up yet, you can ignore elerite entirely and build only durantium extraction, then spam cheap tier 1 infantry and tanks to grow several armies and claim regions in multiple directions at once. The risk: an enemy who techs up past you with stronger units or orbitals. The reward: if your cheap armies reach the resource-rich middle of the map first, you bank a big advantage.

5. Repeat production buildings in every new region

   Each new recruitment building closer to the front does two things: it moves the spawn point for newly ordered units, and it reduces the production time for that unit type. Keep building them in conquered regions and do not tear down the old ones — the speed bonuses stack.

Economy and research: quanta, power and tech trees

Research comes from quanta, the resource marked with the blue icon above the HQ and Region towers. Research labs cost 20 power each, so construct them in regions with high local power supply and high base quanta income — the higher a region's base quanta income, the more the labs there produce. You will often need to spend elerite upgrading a strong quanta region's main tower so it generates more power and supports more labs.

Tech points from research go into one of three trees, and you will not max all three, so match research to your battle plan:

• Assault — focused on units and armies, home to most high-tier units and some of the most powerful orbitals.
• Containment — units and turrets; lets you upgrade tier 1 infantry HP and damage.
• Dominion — resource production and research generation, including production-boosting orbitals and buildings.

A playtest player recommends Containment with the UEF's infantry-heavy opening, especially on smaller maps where there is no time to grow the economy before enemy units arrive. On larger maps and team battles, Dominion's flat percentage boosts to resource production pay off — and you will need them against the armored, armor-piercing top-tier neutral units guarding the most productive mid-map regions.

Army composition and engagements

Tailor each army to what it faces. Against PHC artillery, do not keep queueing infantry squads — area-of-effect fire shreds them. Against armor-penetration units, do not stack only armored units. Use left click to order more counter-units into an army and right click to remove unit types you no longer want reinforced.

Keeping a small number of long-lived armies and rotating their unit types preserves their medal bonuses. Turrets (anti-armor, anti-air and artillery variants, cheap in power and upgradeable via the button in their UI) hold a battleline while you swap composition. Watch for enemy artillery outranging your turrets if you have not built radars in the region.

Confirmed named platforms from the official showcase give the framework its pieces: infantry recruited from the barracks (outfittable against soft or hard targets, devastating when protected but hard-countered by artillery and bombers), the Pathfinder scout from the motorpool (fast, excellent radar, first choice for grabbing weakly defended region nodes), and the Leopard 4 main battle tank (frontline spear with a 360° firing arc, ideal for fighting retreats into ambushes).

Two more armory pieces complete the set. The Stormbreaker artillery offers exceptional range and punishes infantry and structures, forcing the enemy to move or mis-time a maneuver. The Orion missile tank snipes armor-piercing missiles at long range but must be screened from close combat.

Two parting notes from playtest matches: aircraft have underperformed so far — they deal damage slowly, cannot capture cleared regions, and their elerite is often better spent upgrading regions and your HQ for power — and the late-game Obliterator cannon is brutally expensive to construct but offers substantial range and very strong damage. The UEF's winning rhythm is the one its lore promises: forward production, reinforced armies, and a war of attrition the enemy cannot afford.

Next steps

• If you want to see how humanity's mass approach contrasts with elite constructs, read the Ashes of the Singularity II PHC guide for the opposing faction's playbook.
• For an overview of all three factions and their philosophies before committing, see the factions overview page.

FAQ

Is this UEF guide valid for multiplayer and campaign?

The opening build and army habits come from the September public multiplayer playtest, and the video author states the same basics apply in 1v1 quickmatch or a 4v4 with bots. In the campaign, Stardock says the systems are taught through the story, so the same framework applies with tutorial pacing on top.

Which tech tree should a UEF beginner pick?

Containment if you are massing and upgrading tier 1 infantry, especially on small maps. Dominion on larger maps and team games for the resource and production boosts you need against massed enemies and top-tier neutral defenders.

Are air units worth building as the UEF?

Players in the playtest report they are not worth their elerite cost: they damage targets slowly, cannot capture regions, and require orbital-dropped ground units to take territory. A niche use is scouting or supporting pushes, but most elerite goes further into region and HQ power upgrades.

What is the point of keeping one army instead of making new ones?

Armies level up, earning medals that boost HP and movement speed, and losing an army loses those bonuses. Rotate unit types inside a small set of veteran armies rather than scrapping and rebuilding them.