Tiberium Harvester

Lore & Background

In Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Tiberium is the sole resource and is usually gathered from fields of Tiberium crystals scattered around the map. The crystals are gathered by harvester vehicles which unload their cargo into refineries, supplying the player with credits. The Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod both rely on these harvesters to fund their war efforts. GDI fights with conventional modern weapons and tactics, utilizing technologically advanced armor and firepower, while the Brotherhood of Nod features flexible guerrilla warfare forces, using stealth and Tiberium-based weaponry. The third faction, the alien Scrin, features units and structures that are Tiberium based, including the ability to promote the growth of the substance and to store infinite amounts of it. The Scrin are immune to the radioactive effects of Tiberium but vulnerable to anti-Tiberium weapons. Certain maps also feature Tiberium spikes, which, when captured by the faction's engineer unit, allocate a certain number of funds per second.

In Their Own Story

The heavy treads of the Nod Harvester ground into the crimson dust, kicking up a plume of toxic particulate that shimmered in the sickly green light. Inside the cockpit, the operator watched the readout spike as the massive front scoop descended upon a cluster of unstable Tiberium crystals. The machine groaned under the strain of the extraction, metal grinding against crystal, before lifting a heavy load into its rear hopper. As it turned to return to the Refinery, the ground beneath it began to crack and glow, a reminder that every ton harvested brought the planet one step closer to total transmutation. The game takes place roughly seventeen years after the expansion pack Firestorm, in which Tiberium has grown to become a considerable threat to the planet, leading to the world's political borders and territories being remade into zones denoting the level of contamination by the alien substance.

Reader's Guide

In gameplay terms, the Tiberium Harvester is an unarmed support unit critical for economic expansion. It has moderate armor but no weapons, making it highly vulnerable to infantry and light vehicles if left unprotected. Its primary function is to travel from a Refinery to a field of Tiberium, scoop up crystals, and return to deposit them. This cycle generates the in-game currency required to build structures and train units. Players must balance sending multiple Harvesters for maximum income against the risk of losing them to enemy attacks. Tactically, protecting your Harvesters is paramount. Losing a Harvester means an immediate loss of resources and a delay in production until it can be rebuilt. In multiplayer, 'harvesting' often dictates the pace of the game; players who secure their economy early while denying opponents access to Tiberium fields gain a significant advantage. A supporting structure, a crane, can be constructed which can also construct structures, allowing for more queues from which to train and produce units and structures, though funds are deducted for the extra cost as well.

Did You Know?

• Tiberium is the sole resource in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and is usually gathered from fields of Tiberium crystals scattered around the map.
• Certain maps feature Tiberium spikes, which, when captured by the faction's engineer unit, allocate a certain number of funds per second.
• The Scrin faction can promote the growth of Tiberium and store infinite amounts of it, and their units are immune to the radioactive effects of Tiberium.
• Harvester vehicles unload their cargo into refineries, supplying the player with credits which are then automatically used when training units and building structures.
• The game takes place roughly seventeen years after the expansion pack Firestorm, in which Tiberium has grown to become a considerable threat to the planet.