Air defence systems
The air defence hardware in Build and Conquer: S-300, S-400, S-500, Pantsir, VL MICA, SAMP/T, Mistral and RapidFire, and how to pick between them.
Air defence comes in three bands: short-range (Mistral, RapidFire, Pantsir), medium (VL MICA, SAMP/T, RA3) and long-range (S-300, S-400, S-500). Most countries want a cheap band around the city and one long-range battery on the approach.
Build and Conquer sells its air defence in two big equipment packs, and the hardware on the list is real — from the S-500 down to the Pantsir. What matters in-game is which band each system covers, because a country defended by one type of interceptor is a country defeated by one type of attack.
The systems and their bands
| System | Band | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| S-500 | Long range | Eastern European Military Pack |
| S-400 | Long range | Eastern European Military Pack |
| S-300 | Long range | Eastern European Military Pack |
| Pantsir | Short/medium, all-rounder | Eastern European Military Pack |
| VL MICA | Medium | French Military Pack |
| SAMP/T | Medium/long | French Military Pack |
| Mistral | Short | French Military Pack |
| RapidFire | Short | French Military Pack |
| C-RAM | Close-in | Built normally; limited to 6 |
| Iron Dome | Area | Built normally |
| RA3 interceptor | Medium | Built normally |
How to pick
- Close defence first. C-RAM (six max), Mistral or RapidFire cover the buildings you cannot lose.
- One long-range battery per approach. S-300/S-400/S-500 or SAMP/T answer the missile threats that get through.
- Pantsir and RA3 as the flexible middle. Community guides treat these as the best value purchases in a defensive build.
- Spread them. One cluster missile should never be able to delete your whole network, which is exactly what a stacked defence invites.
The 7.1-second rule
Every launcher in the game waits 7.1 seconds between missiles. That number is the reason layered defence works: an attacker can only put so many missiles in the air per minute, and each band of your defence gets a chance at each one. Build for volume of intercepts, not one perfect tower.
Strategy for all of this is in the air defence guide.
