First off, there are supplies on the map for a reason; and you’re given a scout vehicle (Warthog/Ghost/Chopper) to start with for a reason; one of which is to scout, and the other to collect supplies.

In most games, i gather anything from 500 up to 1,500 supplies worth from crates in the first 5 minutes of the game. For anyone who doesn’t bother with collecting, they are missing out on a great way to boost their early game development. Think about it, if you gather 1,200 supplies, that’s a reactor or temple upgrade for free, using just crates found on the map.

So what’s your excuse for not doing it?

Building que:
Make sure you que all your building works so you can concentrate on directing your scout vehicle without worrying whats going on at base. If you are upgrading supply pads/warehouses, as soon as you hear them complete, hit <D to jump to your base, upgrade the building, then hit vD to jump back to your scout.

Waypoint commands:
As you may (or should) know, you can set waypoints or order ques for all units. This is vital for when you gather supplies, for it means you can set your scout vehicle to constantly gather supplies while you attend to other matters.

Learn the route:
Locations of crates differ game to game on maps very slightly, but they are always in the same spot, roughly. Learn where these are either by experience playing, or from the map plans available on the Halo Wars official site. At the very start of the game your scout vehicle should be on its way to the patch of supplies you  know thats there.

Start far away, work back.
Don’t start with the crates right next to your base, drive your scout right out to one of the furthest crates and start from there. This strategy reveals 3 vital things.

1. You are effectively gathering your opposition’s supplies, if he is a smart player he’ll be doing the opposite to you, and getting yours; if that’s the case there’s not a great deal you can do about it. But most people start with the crates nearest them, if you start with those; your reducing the amount of supplies your enemy can gather, thus boosting your economy, and stalling theirs.
2. As your scout drives through the black areas on its journey to that far away crate, it will map out a few more crates (showing as light blue on the minimap). This means you can set waypoints for your scout to slowly work its way back to your base, gathering the crates as it goes without you having to attend to it.
3. If you are playing as Covinent, you will have your leader out sometime early, gathering the further crates with your scout means that when your leader comes, you can use him to quickly pick up the closer ones, as he’s slower and will take a while to get anything far away (especially on 3v3). If your UNSC and have got infantary out, the same applies. Your later, slower units can take the nearer crates, while your scout is taking the far away ones.

Don’t steal from friends:
It really bugs me when players i play with don’t do what i’ve explained below, they are just lazy and collect the crates infront of my base and not taking advantage of all the crates already out there, of which there is plenty for everyone. Although some will say ‘the crates around base are for everyone’, there is the same amount infront of each for every starting player, so there’s no excuse for taking a friends. Don’t be lazy – scout your own crates and collect; this way your stunting your oppositions early economy even more; your team mates need them as much as you do.

Gather-crazy:
If you are building up a warthog force, don’t have them sit outside your base doing nothing. Go looking for more crates and gather. If your not building hogs, try making 1 extra hog to use for gathering even more crates, especially if your team mates haven’t bothered collecting. It’ll cost you 150 to build, but potentially bring you back 500+ supplies. This will also give you an extra scout to work with.

You may think i’ve gone in depth on an irrelivant matter here, but early gathering is something vital for early game development and getting one step in front of your opponent from the start. There are good ways of doing it, and bad. Above i believe i’ve outlined one of the good, and will bring you a step closer to making you a better player.

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