Flares give Illuminate aircraft a passive defense again enemy anti-air which reduces the chance anti-air fire will hit. Once flares have been obatained they can be used to make the Illuminate air force very powerful. Although located at the end of a research tree, obtaining flares isn’t too difficult because the research leading up to them is very useful. However, the Illuminate air force has a secret weapon - flares. Their fighter-bomber is comparable to the Cybran Gemini and their gunship seems a carbon-copy of the Renegade, so many assume it would be better to just go Cybran if air power is their goal. Many people overlook the Illuminate air force. Even so, the Illuminate have a few interesting and effective strategies. In spite of their wealth of interesting tactical options, most players of Supreme Commander 2 agree they are a bit underpowered compared to the other two sides in the game. They have no navy, their tanks are hovercraft, and they have some interesting abilities like Teleport which give them great tactical flexibility. If the Cybran is the jack of all trades, and the UEF is the specailist, the Illuminate is the weird kid everyone else doesn’t understand.

Supreme commander 2 build order