Threat Meter

The Threat Meter is a special measure in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising.

Description
The Threat Meter is a highly-scientific measure of chaos and destruction over time. A higher threat level accelerates the speed at which Security points are granted and also causes units to gain veterancy faster.

For every enemy unit destroyed, the commander gains threat points equal to 75% of the price of the destroyed unit. For every unit lost, the commander gains threat points equal to 300% of the price of the lost unit.

Threat points decrease constantly, with the rate of decrease increasing as the threat level rises.

Security point counter
Next to the Threat Meter is a circle-counter, with a number in the middle that shows the number of security points a player has. Once the circle-counter is filled, a security point is granted. The Top Secret Protocols menu can be accessed through the central button.

Red Alert button
The Red Alert button is a feature introduced in Uprising that's only usable in the Commander's Challenge mode.

When the FutureTech Commander's Threat Meter is full, the button can be pressed, giving 50,000 credits and promoting all of the Commander's units on the field to Heroic veterancy. Doing this resets the Threat Meter to zero, as well as turning the record time to 99:59, making it impossible to complete the challenge under par.

Activating the Red Alert button deducts 10,000 credits from the "Credits Stashed" earned during challenges. It cannot be activated when Credits Stashed is less than 10,000.

Behind the Scenes

 * The Red Alert button was originally going to be present in the original Red Alert 3. Its effect was to disable building construction and cause all of the player's buildings to slowly take damage, but it also drastically reduced unit build time and cost, making it a sort of desperate last resort.