ffffffff fff fff fff

ffffffff fff fff fff
fLLGGLff tiitttii fGG f
LLfffttt;;,,;;;iittt fEEfftiit
fffffi:::::::iif LLGGGGGLGGLLL tttfff
DDt:::..::, GGDGGGGLLLLLLLLLLGDDEDDfftff
DD;:::....iDDDDDfftti;;ii;iiiitfffGGDD LL
GG::::....fEEGGt,,,,::::::::;;,,,,iiLLLLL
ffLL::::..::GDDGG,::::::::::::;; :::::iiLff
LL ::::..::DDDLL:..::::::::::ttf;;:::,,fGGff
ffffGEEtt::::..::GDDii...:::::::: ttt;;:::::iffff
f LLttDWWtt,:::..,,EEE,,...::::::::,,,,,,,:::::;ffff
L fffiiLKKii,:::..;;EDD,,:::::::::::::::::::::::; LL
Ltt;;ittiiLWWtt,,,:::;;ttt,,,,,iii,,:::::::::::::::;ttLL
ffffLDD :::::tWWKKLLLLLLffLLLGGtffLLfffffLffii;ttLffLL DDEE
ff LLfGGff,:::: KKDDLLLLLLLLLLLff;iiLLDGGLLLffii,iiGffLLGDDGGfff
LLffi,, ttttt;::iiDEELLLLLLLLLLLLLii,iiffGEEGGG ;;,iiDGGGGEDDLLfLL
ffLLt::;;,,,,,;ttGGEDDLLLfffLLffLtt,,,iiiiiLL ii,,,ttEGGGGDEEff ffttf
ffLLLii:::::::,GGEEDLLffffffffLLfiiiiiii;;,ii;;;,,,,;fffiittLDDffiii,,
tt;;iii;;,,,,,iDDLLffffffffffffffLLLLLLLiii,,iitttttittfiittGGGGGi,,,,
GG :::::;;;,,tGGffffffffffffffffffffLLLiiittfffLLLL L GLLGG ,,::,iiff
GGLL;,,:::,,::iGGffffffffffffffffffffGLLtt ffLLfLLLLLffLffffLLLLLL,,::::: f
tt tii,,:::::;GGffffffffffffffffffffDGGffffffffffffffffffGGLLLLLGii..:..iif
iiiii;;:::::::;GGGGffffffffffffffffLLDGGLLLfffffffLLGfffffLLGLLLLL :::::tt
EEGGi,,::...:::iiDDGLLfffLLLLLLLfffLLGGGGGGGGLLLGGGGGGGLGGGGDGGLLfLL,,.,, L
DDDDGtt::...:::::iiGGGGGDDDEDDLLffffffffffLGGGGGGGLLLLLGGGLLLLLLLLGGtt:::iiL
GGDDDGGtt;:::::::::; GGDKKWDDfffffffffffffLLGGLfffffffLGGLLfffLLLGGff:::,,i
GGGGDDDGGLtt;;:.....::iiLKKELLfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffLLDDDff:::::.tt
LLGGGGGDDDLLff;.....::,,tGGDLLfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffGEEii:::..iGG
LLGGGGGDDDffii:.....:::::ffELLfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffLEEii:::..;GG
LLLLLGGGGDff,,........:::iiDLLffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffEEtt,,,..;ff
LLLLLLLGGGGGff;....::::::;;LDDfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffLLLEEtt:,,..t
LLLLLLLGGGDDDDL ,,::::::,,iGGLLfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffLLLEEii,;;iif
LLLLLLLGGGGGGGDGGii:....::::;;LLELLLLLfffffffffffffffffffffffffLLGGG,,iLLfff
LLLLLLLLLGGGGGGGGLLfii,,...:;;ttEDDGGLfffffffffffffffffffffffffffDff,,,ttGGG
LLLLLLLLLLGGGGGGGEEKLLtt:...;;iiGKKDDLLLLLffffffffffffffLLLLLLLLLGii,,,ffEEG
LLLLLLLLLLGGGGGGGEEKDDff:...;;iifEEEEDGGGGLffffffffffLLLLLLLGLLDDGii,,, LLf
LLLLLLLLLLGGGGGGGEEELLLL,..:,,ttGEEEEEEEDDLLLGGfLLLLLDDLLLLLEDDEEDLL;;;;;LLf
LLLLLLLGGGGGGGGGGEEGffii;...;; GDDEEEEEKKEKKDDfLLLLLKKGLLGGKWWEEEEE ,iiDDE
LLLLLLLLLGGGGGGGGEEEDDGGD;;.,,iiGDDEEDDDEEEEEEEGLLLLGKKEGGEEKDDGGDEE , GGDLL

___ ___ ___ ___
/\ \ /\__\ /\ \ /\ \
/::\ \ /:/ / /::\ \ /::\ \
/:/\:\ \ /:/ / /:/\:\ \ /:/\:\ \
/:/ \:\ \ /:/ / /::\~\:\ \ /::\~\:\ \
/:/__/ \:\__\ /:/__/ /:/\:\ \:\__\ /:/\:\ \:\__\
\:\ \ /:/ / \:\ \ \/__\:\/:/ / \/__\:\ \/__/
\:\ /:/ / \:\ \ \::/ / \:\__\
\:\/:/ / \:\ \ /:/ / \/__/
\::/ / \:\__\ /:/ /
\/__/ \/__/ \/__/
___ ___ ___
/\ \ /\ \ /\ \
/::\ \ /::\ \ /::\ \
/:/\:\ \ /:/\:\ \ /:/\:\ \
/::\~\:\ \ /::\~\:\ \ \:\~\:\ \
/:/\:\ \:\__\ /:/\:\ \:\__\ \:\ \:\__\
\/__\:\ \/__/ \/__\:\/:/ / \:\/:/ /
\:\__\ \::/ / \::/ /
\/__/ /:/ / /:/ /
/:/ / /:/ /
\/__/ \/__/

_____ _ _ __ ____ _ _
|_ _|_ _| |__ | | ___ ___ / _| / ___|___ _ __ | |_ ___ _ __ | |_ ___
| |/ _` | '_ \| |/ _ \ / _ \| |_ | | / _ \| '_ \| __/ _ \ '_ \| __/ __|
| | (_| | |_) | | __/ | (_) | _| | |__| (_) | | | | || __/ | | | |_\__ \
|_|\__,_|_.__/|_|\___| \___/|_| \____\___/|_| |_|\__\___|_| |_|\__|___/

NOTE: To skip to a section, use ctrl + f and type the letters with brackets.

1) Revision History [REV]
2) Olaf- the basics [BAS]
3) Stats [STA]
4) Changes to Olaf [CHA]
5) Olaf- in depth [IND]
6) General Strategies [GEN]
7) Countering Olaf [COU]
8) Opinions on Olaf [OPI]
9) Thanks to... [THA]
10) Copyright and Disclaimer [COP]

| _ \ _____ _(_)___(_) ___ _ __ | | | (_)___| |_ ___ _ __ _ _
| |_) / _ \ \ / / / __| |/ _ \| '_ \ | |_| | / __| __/ _ \| '__| | | |
| _ < __/\ V /| \__ \ | (_) | | | | | _ | \__ \ || (_) | | | |_| |
|_| \_\___| \_/ |_|___/_|\___/|_| |_| |_| |_|_|___/\__\___/|_| \__, |
|___/
[REV]

Version 1.0 [ date ] Wrote the FAQ

___ _ __ _ _ _ _
/ _ \| | __ _ / _| | |_| |__ ___ | |__ __ _ ___(_) ___ ___
| | | | |/ _` | |_ _____ | __| '_ \ / _ \ | '_ \ / _` / __| |/ __/ __|
| |_| | | (_| | _|_____| | |_| | | | __/ | |_) | (_| \__ \ | (__\__ \
\___/|_|\__,_|_| \__|_| |_|\___| |_.__/ \__,_|___/_|\___|___/

[BAS]

Olaf is the leader of Blue Moon. He's a balanced CO, no real strengths or
weaknesses to worry about, unit wise. With Olaf, the biggest concern is weather.
On a clear day, he's perfectly bland. However, when the weather changes, so does
his power. When the snow rolls in, he gets a nice 20% attack boost, allowing him
to do some heavy damage. He's also immune to the double fuel usage, so he gains
an extra bonus from that. Using this to your advantage is the key to using Olaf.
The key to victory with Olaf is tactical exploitation of your opponent's
weaknesses and strategic use of your CO Powers.

____ _ _
/ ___|| |_ __ _| |_ ___
\___ \| __/ _` | __/ __|
___) | || (_| | |_\__ \
|____/ \__\__,_|\__|___/

[STA]

What can Olaf do? First, let me explain the basic stats. The stats will be
shown with a ratio, like ###/###. The first number is the offense, the second
is the defense. 100 is the standard (100% strength) so units that are 100/100
normal.

As I said above, all of Olaf's units are normal strength, meaning that they
all have 100/100 stats. Outside of that, Olaf is unaffected by snow and his
units become 120/100.

The other main stat that COs have it their CO power. You should know about it,
so I won't go in-depth about it, just show you what they are.

CO Power Bar: xxxXXXX

CO Power (COP): Blizzard
Causes snow to fall for 2 turns.
All units become 130/110

Super CO Power (SCOP): Winter Fury
Causes snow to fall for 2 turns.
All units become 130/110
Causes 2 damage to all opponent's units.

____ _ _ ___ _ __
/ ___| |__ __ _ _ __ __ _ ___ ___ | |_ ___ / _ \| | __ _ / _|
| | | '_ \ / _` | '_ \ / _` |/ _ \/ __| | __/ _ \ | | | | |/ _` | |_
| |___| | | | (_| | | | | (_| | __/\__ \ | || (_) | | |_| | | (_| | _|
\____|_| |_|\__,_|_| |_|\__, |\___||___/ \__\___/ \___/|_|\__,_|_|
|___/

[CHA]

While the main concept of Olaf remained the same between AW2 and AWDS, he's
entire playing style was drastically altered. In AW2, due to the effects of
snow, Olaf was a more defensive CO. He could use the snow to slow down his
opponent and gain strategic ground because of it. His extra damage was a bonus
for the wise, but the only reason to use him for the newer player.

In AWDS, they changed around the dynamics of snow itself, which would have made
Olaf extremely weak if left alone. The snow, instead of decreasing movement, it
double the fuel used by all units. Olaf is naturally still immune to it, but it
is far from the advantage he gained from the colder temperature in AW2. To make
up for it, they let it last two turns and gave him a nice attack boost during
snow.

So why is this bad? Well, it's not bad in of itself. If nothing, it made Olaf
much more powerful and allows newer players more reasons to use him. But the
problem is that the changes corrupt and alter the basic playing style of Olaf.
Instead of using the snow for its strategic abilities, the new Olaf doesn't
care about the snow itself, but instead he wants the attack boost and just has
the fuel as "bonus points". Since the boost is attack and the snow is no longer
defensive, Olaf is no longer as strategic. Now he's just another "pounding them
into submission", which Advance Wars already has too many of.

___ _ __ _ _ _ _
/ _ \| | __ _ / _| (_)_ __ __| | ___ _ __ | |_| |__
| | | | |/ _` | |_ _____ | | '_ \ / _` |/ _ \ '_ \| __| '_ \
| |_| | | (_| | _|_____| | | | | | | (_| | __/ |_) | |_| | | |
\___/|_|\__,_|_| |_|_| |_| \__,_|\___| .__/ \__|_| |_|
|_|
[IND]

Olaf is a master of winter, and he gains strength through strategic uses of his
CO powers.

The advantage Olaf gains in the snow, while still crucial, is no longer hidden
from newer players. His attack strength is now the main reason to use his
powers due to the change in snow, but the power is nothing to ignore. During
snowfall, all of his units are at specialist level (120/100), meaning that he
can incorporate almost any tactic and pull it off as well as other specialists.
The snow itself presents less of an advantage, but can also so much to help
Olaf's game. The extra fuel usage does little against the land forces, but Air
and Sea are still subject to losing fuel quicker. While the APSea (better known
as the Black Boat) helps them a bit, Olaf can force your opponent to use them
more, thus gaining a slight monetary advantage. However, Olaf's true strength
is the duration of his powers. He's the only CO in the game that gets multiple
turn attack boosts with his power. Since the strength lasts the extra turn, he
also can use that turn to build up his bar again. One a battle is underway,
Olaf can likely use Blizzard and have it snowing more turns than it's clear.

The other strength that Olaf has comes from his SCOP. When using his SCOP, he
inflicts 2 damage on all enemy units. No matter what the situation it, an 8 HP
troop will perform siginificantly worse than one with full health. So your
opponent has three options, all advantageous to you. He can repair his units,
join his units, or just work with damaged units. Even more than the snow,
attempting to repair all their units can stall an enemy's plan. That can be a
costly proposal, especially for Kanbei, and very time consuming. On maps where
cities are few and far between, it may even cause a retreat to an area where
there are more cities. Joining units is an alternative to repairing, but it
obviously gets them less units. This is probably the most favorable option of
the three, since you'll have less units to deal with and you can likely drive
deeper into their territory than you would have otherwise. However, you should
be wary of heavy reinforcements. Joining two 8 HP tanks will give your
opponent back an extra 4200 gold. Two Neo tanks will net 13200, almost enough
for a brand new Md Tank. Make sure you can handle the extra reinforcements
when they make it up to the front lines. Now to look at the last option, just
dealing with damaged troops. That has the obvious advantages of easier kills.
A rocket can do 80% or more to all units sitting on a road except the heavier
units, Md Tanks or Neotanks. Many other units could easily OHKO (One Hit KO) an
8 HP unit instead of crippling a 10 HP unit. Now aside from making your
opponent choose from these options, you can actually force him to choose one.
Use Winter Fury on a turn after he's built an expensive unit, say a Battleship.
He won't have a choice about repairing it, and automatically lose an extra 5600
that turn. Now, say he happens to have a few other units sitting on cities
coming to the front. We'll go with a tank and an A Air. That's another 3000
down the drain. If you can coordinate it well enough, you can make him start a
turn with almost no money. He won't be able to build new units to replace his
now damaged ones, unless he joins. And, as stated above, joining is very
favorable.

Olaf's last big strength is his lack of a weakness. Olaf has all 100/100 units,
so many strategies are available to him that other COs wouldn't be able to pull
off. While some COs might be able to perform better with certain strategies,
Olaf offers the ability to flit from tactic to tactic and surprise the opponent.
Let's look at Grit's favorite tactic, bombardment from behind a shield. Olaf
can pull this off fairly well, his indirects only suffer a space of range from
Grit and the attack bonus. However, what Olaf's strengths can add to the
strategy in ways that Grit can't. Snow will allow him specialist level, while
an extra two damage will allow indirects to OHKO more units. And Olaf's direct
units are more powerful than Grit's giving him a more hardy 'mop up crew' and
shield. So Olaf can hold out under an attack until while he's building up his
shield. Then, when he's ready, he can switch suddenly and use his directs to
go on a rampage, advancing his indirects quickly into the now open gap and
preparing to defend against the counterattack. The second turn of snow will
allow Olaf to advance even further. Grit, however, doesn't have that option as
open to him, he'd have to slowly creep forward and take his land bit by bit.
Olaf has the element of surprise with his, where Grit's creep is predictable
and can be countered with planning.

Now not to pick on Grit specifically, but all specialized COs can have their
strategies adapted to Olaf (except for strategies based around COP/SCOP). Olaf
can do a frontal assault like Max or Flak, he can do an air assault like
Sensei or Eagle. He can master the sea like Drake or rule the land like Jess.

____ _
/ ___| ___ _ __ ___ _ __ __ _| |
| | _ / _ \ '_ \ / _ \ '__/ _` | |
| |_| | __/ | | | __/ | | (_| | |
\____|\___|_| |_|\___|_| \__,_|_|

____ _ _ _
/ ___|| |_ _ __ __ _| |_ ___ __ _(_) ___ ___
\___ \| __| '__/ _` | __/ _ \/ _` | |/ _ \/ __|
___) | |_| | | (_| | || __/ (_| | | __/\__ \
|____/ \__|_| \__,_|\__\___|\__, |_|\___||___/
|___/
[GEN]

Olaf's biggest strength is a lack of weakness. All his units are 100/100 or
better, making a host of different strategies viable. I won't get into a lot of
general strategies, but I'll go into the strengths of his COP/ SCOP.
Basically, this section has a few tips, but is mostly for people who don't
want to read through my Olaf- in depth section and pick out the strategies.
I'd recommend reading both sections, since I could have missed some
information that was included in the other section.

<Extra Damage>

The only difference between Olaf's COP and SCOP is damage. With his SCOP, Olaf
will do two damage to all enemy units. That can often be the deciding factor
between severe damage and a OHKO. Many units can do crippling damage to certain
units, but can't quite kill them. However, they can kill an 8 HP unit. To
borrow from the above strategy, if you use Winter Fury to break a line, you
can pierce a line very well and prevent reinforcements for killing your troops.

<Spy Games>

Not really a strategy, but a slight advantage that most other COs don't have.
When you use Winter Fury in Fog of War, it will actually show you where all
your opponent's units are. While you can't know what they are nor attack them
without seeing them, it can help you detect ambushes and call bluffs. The only
other COs that can do this are Drake and Hawke.

____ _ _ ___ _ __
/ ___|___ _ _ _ __ | |_ ___ _ __(_)_ __ __ _ / _ \| | __ _ / _|
| | / _ \| | | | '_ \| __/ _ \ '__| | '_ \ / _` | | | | | |/ _` | |_
| |__| (_) | |_| | | | | || __/ | | | | | | (_| | | |_| | | (_| | _|
\____\___/ \__,_|_| |_|\__\___|_| |_|_| |_|\__, | \___/|_|\__,_|_|
|___/
[COU]

Olaf is actually fairly difficult to counter simply because he has no weakness
that most COs can use. The best way to beat him is to emphasis your strengths
and limit your weaknesses. Grit, for instance should find and hold a
chokepoint and spam Artillery until he's ready to advance. Sami, on the other
hand, should flood Mechs with a few supporting units to cost effectively kill
him. Really, beating Olaf is just about the skills in using your advantage.

___ _ _ ___ _ __
/ _ \ _ __ (_)_ __ (_) ___ _ __ ___ ___ _ __ / _ \| | __ _ / _|
| | | | '_ \| | '_ \| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __| / _ \| '_ \ | | | | |/ _` | |_
| |_| | |_) | | | | | | (_) | | | \__ \ | (_) | | | | | |_| | | (_| | _|
\___/| .__/|_|_| |_|_|\___/|_| |_|___/ \___/|_| |_| \___/|_|\__,_|_|
|_|

[OPI]

This section is dedicated to various opinions on Olaf, showing multiple views
other than mine on this CO.

My view on Olaf: Olaf, while drastically changed from his AW2 self, is now one
of the most power COs in the game. With the ability to cause two days of
superior firepower, his strength is massive. His COP also allows him to make
almost a constant snow, or he can save up and work with 2 damage and great
power. And as an added bonus, his opponent will have to have a larger fleet of
APCs and Black Boats in order to keep their units fueled. While he's switch
from defense to offense, the new Olaf is just as strategic as the old one.

Terragent's view: (In the form of a Strong Bad email...)

terragent_email.exe

>Dear Terragent
>I've been wondering what you think about Olaf.
>Isn't he cool?
>Crapfully yours,
>ThrawnFett, WWN

Well, Thrawny, I'm not really an expert on big men with beards. In fact,
I'm so much not an expert that you could probably call me an... un-expert
or something. Hey, that sounds pretty cool. 'Hello, ladies, I am an un-expert
on Olaf!' Yeah, I bet that'd work great!

Anyway, from what I do remember about Olaf, it seems that he's a pretty nasty
guy. I mean, the enemy CO's just minding their own business when it starts
snowing! That's not cool, man. I can just see it, they'd probably say something
like 'Bomber over? Air crash equals very yes? That is not a good prize!'

That's why you want to be the one giving it to them. Obviously the best way
to do this is to find some way to steal Olaf's powers and absorb them into
yourself using some kind of cool time warp with lots of special effects, but
as you might guess, that's not cheap. So for the next best thing, you can just
use Olaf when you play!
Really, he's a sweet CO. All that crazy firepower when it's snowing, and that
amazing fuel thing that he does... man, I so totally wish I could use him
all the time.

The best thing is that he works real well with other COs. I mean, you can be
all like, 'hey, I'm using a tag break!' and your opponent will be like 'so
what?' - that's when you spring your surprise on them, and use Olaf!
I mean, first you use some other guy (like Grit or maybe Drake) to hurt them
a bit, and then you bring out Olaf! And then you win! Simple as that.

Anyway, all this good advice is making me feel dizzy. Until next time, keep
sending me your requests for CO opinions, and I will ignore them and write
random crap!

Sincerely,
Terragent

Tronn_Bonne's view: What makes the AWDS Olaf so good is his ability to
manipulate his own specialization ie snow. Unlike most COs, Olaf’s powers last
for two days. That means two days of increased fuel consumption for the enemy
and a solid 20% attack increase to all of Olaf’s units. That gives him greater
flexibility in utilizing his strengths to win battles. You have the option of
using the SCOP and dealing the 2 damage to weaken the enemy or you can go for a
double COP which will result in 4 days of snow. Thus, you can use Winter’s Fury
to help you launch a sudden, devastating attack which is designed to break the
enemy army in one day. However, you can also implement a more methodical
strategy that will take time and, therefore, can utilize a Double Blizzard to
help that strategy succeed. Furthermore, while the fuel reducing effects of
Olaf’s snow is not as devastating as Drake’s CO Powers it is still very
effective for tiring out an enemy assault force, especially on a large map and
if Olaf performs a Double Blizzard. Overall, Olaf remains a very strong CO in
AWDS that boasts considerable flexibility along with very noticeable strengths.

_____ _ _ _
|_ _| |__ __ _ _ __ | | _____ | |_ ___
| | | '_ \ / _` | '_ \| |/ / __| | __/ _ \
| | | | | | (_| | | | | <\__ \ | || (_) | _ _
|_| |_| |_|\__,_|_| |_|_|\_\___/ \__\___(_|_|_)

[THA]

CjayC and gameFAQs.com- for inspiring me to write FAQs...

My fellow SoLdiers, just because...

Xenesis Xenon, for the CO Stats FAQ and for making warsworldnews.com, the best
Advance Wars site on the internet...

Terragent, for his opinion...

ASCII picture generated by http://www.degraeve.com/gif2txt.php

ASCII text generated by http://www.network-science.de/ascii/

____ _ _ _ _
/ ___|___ _ __ _ _ _ __(_) __ _| |__ | |_ __ _ _ __ __| |
| | / _ \| '_ \| | | | '__| |/ _` | '_ \| __| / _` | '_ \ / _` |
| |__| (_) | |_) | |_| | | | | (_| | | | | |_ | (_| | | | | (_| |
\____\___/| .__/ \__, |_| |_|\__, |_| |_|\__| \__,_|_| |_|\__,_|
|_| |___/ |___/
____ _ _ _
| _ \(_)___ ___| | __ _(_)_ __ ___ ___ _ __
| | | | / __|/ __| |/ _` | | '_ ` _ \ / _ \ '__|
| |_| | \__ \ (__| | (_| | | | | | | | __/ |
|____/|_|___/\___|_|\__,_|_|_| |_| |_|\___|_|

[COP]

This document is (c)2005 Phil Leide. This may be not be reproduced under any
circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any
web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission.
Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

If you have suggestions, comments, questions, corrections, or additional
strategies that may be useful and that are pertinent to the subject of this
document, please e-mail me at the following address:

[email protected]

Please, no spam or ads. Whether I use anything sent is entirely my decision.
If your contribution is useful, it will be inserted in an future update to the
guide and you will be given full credit for it.

The only sites authorized to use this guide are listed below. If you want to
use this guide, please e-mail me at the above address.

gamefaqs.com
warsworldnews.com