---
key: mechanic/tactics-defense--t084
type: mechanic
id: tactics-defense--t084
lang: en
title: Rerouting enemies and building mazes
summary: >-
  Building changes enemy routes, making travel length and available passages
  defensive resources.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/tactics-defense--t084/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/tactics-defense--t084.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/tactics-defense--t084.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Tactics and defense
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-32d0598945d8807a
  - source-ca67b863bfb342a2
sources:
  - id: source-32d0598945d8807a
    title: OpenRA
    url: 'https://www.openra.net/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-ca67b863bfb342a2
    title: 'Defense Grid: The Awakening'
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: tactics-defense
    id: t084
    title: Tactics and defense
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/tactics-defense/#t084'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Rerouting enemies and building mazes
    description: >-
      Building changes enemy routes, making travel length and available passages
      defensive resources.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/strategy-defense-grid-05.webp
      width: 1280
      height: 720
      game: 'Defense Grid: The Awakening'
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/18500/0000005949.1920x1080.jpg?t=1721059385
      credit: Hidden Path Entertainment / Hidden Path Entertainment
      rights: >-
        © Hidden Path Entertainment / Hidden Path Entertainment. All rights
        reserved.
      caption: Towers occupy platforms beside the routes
      alt: Towers occupy platforms beside the routes
      markers:
        - x: 53
          'y': 48
          label: Passages between building platforms
        - x: 83
          'y': 21
          label: Towers cover sections of the route with fire
    tips:
      - Update the route preview before an obstacle is placed.
    examples:
      - title: 'Defense Grid: The Awakening'
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/tactics-defense
---
# Rerouting enemies and building mazes

id: tactics-defense--t084
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/tactics-defense--t084
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/tactics-defense--t084/

Building changes enemy routes, making travel length and available passages defensive resources.

## At a glance

![Towers occupy platforms beside the routes](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/strategy-defense-grid-05.webp)

[Defense Grid: The Awakening](https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/) · © Hidden Path Entertainment / Hidden Path Entertainment. All rights reserved.

1. Passages between building platforms
2. Towers cover sections of the route with fire

- Update the route preview before an obstacle is placed.

- [Defense Grid: The Awakening](https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/)

## How it works

Building changes enemy routes, making travel length and available passages defensive resources.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t084-variants"></a>

- Obstacles lengthen the path to the objective. <a id="t084-v1"></a>
- Gates switch routes in response to a signal. <a id="t084-v2"></a>
- A no-blocking rule preserves reachability. <a id="t084-v3"></a>
- A breaker cuts a shorter route through walls. <a id="t084-v4"></a>

## Design example

A player opens the west gate after a volley to send the next group around a long loop.

Prototype check: Test route recalculation when building near a moving enemy and prevent unexplained teleportation.

## Context and limits

Tactics and defense turn positioning, action order and preparation into limited resources. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [OpenRA](https://www.openra.net/) (id: source-32d0598945d8807a)
- [Defense Grid: The Awakening](https://store.steampowered.com/app/18500/) (id: source-ca67b863bfb342a2)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors