To start off, I am by no means an expert HW2 player. But I did put a worthy amount of time in Halo Wars 1 and have been playing HW2 for about 50+ hours. I like to think that I’m of above average intelligence and learn pretty quickly, so I thought I’d share some of my experiences with this game to help out those of you who are just getting started. If you’re Plat rank or above, you definitely won’t need these tips so feel free to contribute your own experiences in the comments. An educated playerbase is a better playerbase! First off, no matter what your planned build is, the first thing you should build is a scout unit. That scout unit is your lifeblood. What I like to do is send my scout to gather 1 power crate (to help upgrade my extractors/harvesters), and then send it to my opponents base to check their build. If you’re playing 1v1 and you see only 1 generator, you’re 95% getting rushed. Early units take little to no power and putting an emphasis on supply means your opponent is either 1. looking to pump out lots of units 2. preparing to throw up turrets to turtle against a rush or 3. trying to expand early. Although most people will build 2 generators instead of 1, that doesn’t mean they aren’t preparing to rush you. Building 2 generators provides more power for early upgrades (to benefit the rush) or allows you to boom into Tech 2 (regardless of whether or not a rush succeeds). Obviously if you see a Barracks, you are getting rushed by Hellbringers/Jump Pack Brutes/Goliaths. A Foundry or Apex is mostly irrelevant until Tech 2 because you can only build Engineers. Also scout out any mini bases near your opponent’s base. Don’t forget to either build or scout your own mini bases as well, as a stolen mini base will spell certain doom for you if you are unaware of it. Being able to build units on an opponent’s side of the map is extremely powerful. While this initial scouting is going on, use your starting units! Grab resources, take power nodes, and garrison units. What I like to do is build an extra infantry unit, take the closest power node, and then throw those units in garrisons around the map. Provided they get there, you now have 3-4 spots of vision on the map to warn you of incoming enemy units, as well as an extra source of power. This should all be done between 1-2 minutes. Back to your opponent. As long as you’ve kept your scout alive, you should be able to see what type of rush your opponent is going for. If you see mass infantry coming your way, you are going to want to build Ghost/Choppers if you are Banished and Snipers or Hellbringers if you are UNSC ( I can’t remember if Snipers are Tech 1 or 2, I don’t play UNSC very often ). Jackrabbits can’t attack without an upgrade, so it’s your call if you want to invest in that. It will help you defend against an infantry rush, but it will also increase the time needed to hit Tech 2. If you see scouts headed your way, either build scout units of your own, or invest in the Grenade Throw/Shrapnel Mine upgrade for your Core Infantry. Regardless of what’s headed your way, you need to throw up at least 2 turrets. Turrets by themselves will NOT stop a rush. You need an army of your own supported by turret fire if you want to successfully defend against a rush. Upgrading those turrets is also an on-the-spot judgement call. If you judge the enemy force to be on the small side, maybe you can forgo the turret upgrades and focus on hitting Tech 2. Remember, the whole point of a rush is to either outright kill the opponent, or set them back far enough so that you can beat them to Tech 2 and assemble a stronger, more advanced army to crush the enemy. However, very seldom will you come across a rush capable of completely wiping you out. That type of “all-in” rush is very risky as you have the potential to kill your opponent, but a quick-witted player can still stop it. And if an “all in” rush fails, the rusher is pretty much SOL. As the person defending the rush, if you can deter them from attacking or outright smash their army, you will almost certainly be put in the lead economically and be able to hit Tech 2 and counterattack. Don’t forget to use your Leader Powers! As Cutter, use Lotus Mines to protect your base and Restoration Drones to keep your army alive. As Isabel, use Heavy Metal to give your units an edge and Lotus Mines to protect your base. As Anders, use R&D to give your turrets shields and Lotus Mines to protect your base. As Forge, use Heavy Metal. As Shipmaster (Shipmaster is love, Shipmaster is life), use Banished Raid to allow your garrisoned infantry units to have a longer sight range, as well as a faster capture for that first power node, and use the Scout Mine in front of your base, it is very powerful. As Decimus, use Vortex Lightning to stun enemy units near your turrets and Siphon to give your units an edge. As Atriox, use fortifications for those cheaper turrets and Plasma Mines to defend your base. As Kinsano, use Hellcharge to give your units an edge and either Heat of Battle if you’re fighting scout units or Hell Drop if you’re fighting infantry. As Colony, you have a variety of options. You can attach Skitters to your units to give them more health and damage, or you can use Living Barrier to block off paths to your base. With your second leader point, you can either use Engineer Swarm to keep your units alive, or Vehicle Symbiotes to give your turrets more range and durability. I really can’t stress the mines enough. Now that they’ve been swapped to the first or second tier of Leader Powers, they are excellent tools for stopping a rush. As a couple of side notes, don’t give up and resign if your opponent destroys a building or two. As long as you stay calm and keep on chugging along, there’s still a good chance for you to win. Build mini bases or pursue map control while your opponent is focused on wiping you out. Build a few units at your mini bases to collect resources, capture powernodes, or reinforce your base. Buy upgrades if you have spare power. Also, if you are caught at your base with no army, lock your base down while you prepare your units. Throwing one or two units at an army won’t do anything, wait until you have a sizable force and then unlock your base. Once you’ve stopped a rush, you are in a great position. Your opponent has just thrown a fat chunk of his economy towards a rush and you just melted it like butter in a microwave. Assuming you still have a couple units left, start regaining control of the map, expand, or counterattack. NEVER STOP SCOUTING. As long as you know what your opponent is doing, and he doesn’t know what you are doing, you have the advantage. Once you’ve hit Tech 2, kick it up a notch. Scout your opponent. Build your army appropriately. Grab power nodes. Build mini bases. Destroy enemy mini bases. After the first 5-6 minutes ( the time period for a rush), you’ve got to rely on your wits and reaction time in order to come out on top. Both players will almost certainly have hit Tech 2 at or around this time. Choose your Leader Powers wisely. Invest in upgrades accordingly. Keep an eye on your resource count, as that will dictate what kind of units you can make. If you get caught with your pants down after 5 mins, you should start critiquing your own gameplay. Tech 2 rushes don’t exist; if your see your opponent going quick Tech 2, punish him! Learn from your mistakes. Keep on playing and you WILL improve. Good luck soldier 
See them prepping an infantry rush, as Banished you need to pump out Suicide Grunts. They slaughter infantry rushes.
I Have Made A Group Of Troops But I Got Condor Rushed Which Really Brought Me Down With In A Couple Of Seconds… Got Any Tips For Condor/Vulture Rushes? Because I Have Trouble Doing That. What I Mostly Do Is Start Not Building Infantry Or Units Like I Get As Least Kinsano Cyclops And Its Good For Infantry Units But I Got Attacked By Condors In Seconds So Fast While My Teammate Got Rush By 15 Or More Mantises So He Could Not Help At The Moment Making Us Lose. Yeah I Would Usually Build Infantry But Not With Kinsano Because Of Air Like I Could Build Many Wolferines But Either Way I Would Not Be Defended By Condors Or Vulture Rushes Can Anybody Explain How To Stop Them Without Them Destroying My Base In Seconds?