Iron Meridian: how to play and strategy
Build your base across 20 missions. Hold 50 waves, then deploy to the Moon and Mars.
How to play
Click or tap a base site to build, or select a defense pad and choose a weapon. Select structures to upgrade. Right-click or Escape deselects. Space pauses. Defenses fire automatically. Send waves manually or enable Auto waves. Click the game title to return to the campaign. Gameplay runs at normal speed.
Rules and progression
Complete 20 missions with 50 waves each across desert, woods, tundra, and snow. Each mission has a distinct road layout and starts with an undeployed HQ and its own alloy budget. Deploy the free HQ, build power and a refinery, then fortify the approaches.
Mission 1 allows one harvester, sentries up to level 3, and infantry enemies only. Barracks and rockets unlock in mission 2, factories and cannons in 5, radar and research in 8, then siege batteries, air command, and SAM sites in 11. Hostile attack drones also arrive in mission 11; flak turrets and armored gunships appear in 16.
Infantry targeting, anti-armor shells, and air interception join the research choices across missions 12–16. The munitions depot unlocks in mission 15 and improves reload times. Sentries specialize in infantry, rockets in scouts and launchers, cannons in heavy armor, siege batteries in groups, and SAM sites in armored aircraft, and flak turrets in drone groups.
Upgrade stages add visible armor and equipment to buildings and defenses. Later missions bring armored vehicles, tanks, mobile launchers, and command breakers. Mission briefings show harvester and upgrade limits.
Research and completion records carry between missions; buildings and alloy belong to each outpost. Replay completed missions for more Intel. Clear mission 20 to unlock Moon and Mars bonus operations.
Industry earns for up to two hours while away; enemy waves pause. Auto waves waits for full HQ repair. A breach preserves your buildings and lets you retry the failed wave.
Progress saves in this browser.
Opening plan: make the first outpost sustainable
Deploy the free HQ, establish power and alloy production, then build a sentry on a roadside defense pad. Keep enough alloy for a defense before starting the first wave. Watch where enemies stop to attack the HQ: that section of road needs coverage as much as the entrance does. Later missions add different roads and enemies, so reuse the principle rather than copying a fixed arrangement.
Plan your next move
- Check the briefing before spending. Harvester limits, available weapons, and upgrade caps change through the campaign.
- Match the weapon to the threat: sentries handle infantry, while later armor and aircraft call for specialized defenses.
- Use manual waves when you want time to build or repair. Auto waves waits for full HQ repair; a pause can be recovery rather than a stuck mission.
What happens after a breach or time away?
A breach keeps your buildings so you can improve the outpost and retry that wave. Industry can earn for up to two hours while away, but enemy waves pause. Research and completion records carry across missions; each outpost has its own buildings and alloy.
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