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| Advance Wars For the Game Boy Advance |
| By: Ben Semisch (Happybuddh311) |
| Last Update: October 6, 2003 |
| Version: Final |
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Thank you for choosing to read my guide, I hope you find it helpful. In this
guide I will give you strategies for beating the general campaign as well as
other strategies, to help you beat all the maps in the war room, as well as
owning your friends in this game. Because of the randomness of the Artificial
Intelligence (what controls the enemy), there is no way I can give you a set
number of steps that will guarantee victory. Instead I will give you some
strategies and ideas that have helped me beat the game. This guide will also
provide strategies for using the COs and their units.
My goal is to try and make this guide as easy for you to read and use, and as
helpful as possible, if you can think of anything that would help this guide
fulfill that goal, then send it to me at Happybuddha311(at)Aol(dot)com. Make
sure you include two things in the subject line "Your Advance wars FAQ" and
what site you are reading the guide from. That way I can tell that it isn't
spam, and if you ask a question already found in the guide that either the host
hasn't updated or you're a lazy, stupid pile.
If you are a webmaster looking to host this guide, don't. The only two sites
that are allowed to have this guide are Gamefaqs.com and Ign.com. If you are
reading this guide anywhere else, please inform me, so the parties involved can
be dealt with in a courtroom setting.
With all that said, let's get to the part of the guide you came to read, or so
I'm hoping.
i) Faq heading and general info.
1) Intro ~(You just read it, or skipped over it)
2) Table of Contents
3) Modes of play
4) The Troops
- Land
- Air
- Sea
5) The COs, and how to unlock them
-Andy
-Max
-Sami
-Grit
-Olaf
-Kanbei
-Sonja
-Drake
-Eagle
-Sturm
-Nell
6) Strategic Formations
7) The Walkthrough
8) The War Room
9) Buddha's Insanely Hard Challenges
10) About the Author
11) What to look for (coming updates)
In this you can either begin a new campaign or continue an existing one. This
is the part of the game with the story, and where you unlock the different COs,
and earn coins to buy maps.
I recommend this first, as you can learn how to do everything. An interesting
thing to try, if you think you are "teh shit" at this game, try to beat
"Dogfight" in two days.
The mode where you can play on the maps you created, or against your friends
and/or the computer. You earn no coins in this mode though.
*Note*: You don't need two (or more) Game Boy Advances to play multi-player.
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Here is where you link up to play Head to head, this mode is unnecessary
because you can play with one GBA but hey, to each his own. You don't earn
coins in this mode, though I think it would have been a good idea if you could
wager coins against each other. Too bad, maybe in Advance wars 2...
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Here is where you can create your own maps to play in VS. Mode. There is more
on this later in the guide.
This is where you spend your coins you won in the war room and the campaign to
buy COs and Maps. It's best to try and buy all of the war room maps first,
because they are the ones that get you coins.
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This is where you can find out your rank, your previous ranks, and what your
high score is for each level in the war room.
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Basically this is a battle simulator or a campaign mode without a plot. This
and Campaign mode are the only modes you can earn coins in.
Well I hope all of these descriptions are just vague enough to work. If you
want less vague descriptions e-mail me and tell me that.
In this section I will explain to you all of the different units, their *Basic*
stats (some stats change with different COs), and some strategies for them, as
well as the best units to use against them. Be sure to note, by ammo, I mean
ammo of the best weapon, most units have machine guns to fall back on.
Most of the units are land units, so this will be the biggest section for
units. I will go in order of how they are listed, in the factory menu. Note
that when Land units run out of gas, they just sit there until an APC refills
them or they are destroyed.
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Infantry
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Cost: 1,000
Movement: 3
Vision: 2
Ammo: Infinite
Gas: 99
Description: The infantry unit is one of the more important units in the game,
they are used for capturing, and well that's about it. Though capturing is a
big part of the game, these troops are also good at support fighting, and
sneaking over mountains to flank an enemies long distance fighters, forcing
them to retreat or take damage.
Best unit use against Infantry: Anti-Airs, they are the only vehicle that can
use their weapon (The Vulcan Guns) against them.
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Mech
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Cost: 3,000
Movement: 2
Vision: 2
Ammo: 3
Gas: 70
Description: Besides the Infantry unit, this is the only unit that can capture
bases, making it a very worth while unit to have. While it has a lower
movement, it has a heavier gun, and less moving penalties (not being able to
move as far because of certain terrain). This unit is good for taking out
Tanks, and infantry.
Best unit to use against Mechs: Md. Tanks, because they can take the damage
from the Mechs and dish it back out.
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Recon
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Cost: 4,000
Movement: 8
Vision: 5
Ammo: Infinite
Gas: 80
Description: This unit can see a long ass ways, so it is good for recon in maps
with Fog of War. This unit also has use outside fog of war maps. It's good
for taking out Infantry, but not mechs, as well as long distance troops because
you can zoom in from outside of their range, to right next to them in firing
position where they can't fight back.
Best unit to use against Recons: Tanks, they tear Recon units to shreds.
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Tank
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Cost: 7,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 3
Ammo: 9
Gas: 70
Description: The Tank, or "Light Tank" as I call it, is your basic fighter, it
can take out a lot of units and can play multiple roles. Because it has speed,
good armor and, a decent weapon it is good for taking out long distance units.
This weapon should also be your bread and butter weapon. Just don't try
throwing these things at a Md. Tank, or you'll get sliced.
Best unit against Tanks: Md. Tanks, Imagine that, the Md. Tank rips another
piece of metal to shreds again.
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Md. Tank
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Cost: 16,000
Movement: 5
Vision: 1
Ammo: 8
Gas: 50
Description: It doesn't move as quick as the Tank, doesn't have as much ammo
or gas as a tank, but it sure as hell could teach the Tank a lesson or two
about ass whoopin. This unit destroys everything it comes in contact with,
though it runs out of everything quickly, so make sure you have an APC, or a
city to supply the tank at or you could be looking at a stranded tank relying
solely on it's machine gun. This unit is probably your best ground unit, and
my favorite.
Best unit to use against Md. Tank: Rockets, they have the distance and if they
have a unit to block for them, then they can get two or three shots at a Md.
Tank, which should be enough to take out the tank, or at least greatly reduce
it's threat.
Author's Note: If this is a Medium tank, I'd love to see a Large Tank... Maybe
in Advance Wars 2...
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APC
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Cost: 5,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 1
Ammo: None, it has no weapons
Gas: 70
Description: The APC, or Armored Personnel Carrier, moves troops faster than
they can move themselves, though it's often the first to be hit in a convoy.
This is a very good unit for those maps with few cities and a long way between
fights, because they can zip infantry and mech units to the battle, as well as
re-supply every ally troop it touches. This is a must have if you are using a
good deal of Md. Tanks and/or Rockets and artillery in a convoy type strategy.
Best unit to use against the APC: Anything with a gun, this unit is a pushover.
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Artillery
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Cost: 6,000
Movement: 5
Vision: 1
Ammo: 9
Gas: 50
Range: 2-3
Description: This is the first Long distance weapon you come across, hence the
range. It can attack things that are two or three squares away, but not any
closer. This unit is good for woody areas, because it has treads, which give
it less moving penalties. This weapon like all long distance weapons, will
require a spotter to maximize it's effectiveness in fog of war. A spotter is
simply a unit that has a vision long enough to see what you are shooting at.
Recon units are good spotters.
Best unit to use against Artillery: Recon, they can zip in fast and get into
the "No fire zone" of the artillery.
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Rockets
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Cost: 15,000
Movement: 5
Vision: 1
Ammo: 6
Gas: 50
Range: 3-5
Description: Another long distance unit, Rockets have a higher range, and a
lower everything else. They pack more damage than an Artillery unit, but
because of their low ammo, you should keep an APC with more than 2 Rocket
units. This weapon like all long distance weapons, will require a spotter to
maximize it's effectiveness in fog of war. A spotter is simply a unit that has
a vision long enough to see what you are shooting at. Recon units are good
spotters.
Best unit to use against Rockets: Recon, because it can zip into position
without being hit by the rockets.
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A-Airs (Anti-Airs)
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Cost: 8,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 2
Ammo: 9
Gas: 60
Description: This weapon is best against Air units as the name would apply,
however, this unit is also good against Infantry, mechs and Recon units, making
it a decent investment in the early stages of a game.
Best unit to use against Anti-Airs: Md. Tanks and Tanks, both can take it's
Vulcan gun like it was a water gun and thrash it with their cannons.
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Missiles
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Cost: 12,000
Movement: 4
Vision: 5
Ammo: Missiles
Gas: 50
Range: 3-5
Description: This is basically what artillery is to tanks, only for the anti-
air. This is the best weapon to use against those pesky air units, you don't
even need a spotter because this unit can see as far as it shoots. One draw
back is that you'll need an Anti-air in case one of the planes zooms in next to
it where it becomes helpless. Also any ground or sea unit with a gun could
easily molest this unit if it is left unguarded. So the only practical use for
this unit is in large convoys and base defending where there is other
defenders.
Best unit against Missiles: 2 Md. Tank (if guarded, if not anything will do),
even if it does have guards one Md. Tank can take care of most of the guards
while the other one takes out the missiles. Then you can bring in the planes
to finish off the guards.
With all of the air units, you want to watch out for Anti-Airs and Missiles as
well as cruisers, if you can try to take out those units with ground or sea
troops you should be good. Also watch out for enemy fighters which can pull
your men out of the sky quickly. You should try to reserve building Fighters
and Bombers until you have ample supplies, and can build at least one each
turn. Other wise a cheap multi-role Anti-air could ruin your investment.
One good thing about Air units that makes them worth the money is their lack of
moving penalties, no matter what type of terrain they cross, they have no
penalty. They do get moving penalties in weather though, like all troops.
Unlike Ground units, If an air unit runs out of fuel, it plummets to it's fiery
death to the ground, watch for your fuel, as you want to protect your
investment.
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Fighters
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Cost: 20,000
Movement: 9
Vision: 2
Ammo: 9
Gas: 99
Description: this unit only has missiles so as soon as you run out, run back to
an airport or an APC to re-supply. These units only have one purpose to take
out other air units, so don't buy these until you see your opponet with air
troops or, until you are confident he is planning on building them. Even then
don't go crazy building them, a good strategist can use two or three to take
out all the air units he needs.
Best unit to use against Fighters: Missiles, they have the range and can take
you out of the air before you can say "****, THAT ***** JUST SHOT ME OUT OF THE
AIR!".
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Bomber
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Cost: 22,000
Movement: 7
Vision: 2
Ammo: 9
Gas: 99
Description: These babies can ruin any picnic they attend, they can thrash most
units in one hit, even if they don't kill them they will have taken out the
threat the enemy even posed, allowing for a ground troop to come in and finish
them off. These puppies are expensive and sitting or rather flying ducks for
the fighters because they can't fight back. Make sure to protect your
investment in these with a fighter or two.
Best unit to use against Bombers: Fighters, the bomber can't shoot back, making
that 22,000 all for nothing.
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B Cptr (Battle Copter)
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Cost: 9,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 3
Ammo: 6
Gas: 99
Description: This unit is good for taking out every land unit except the Anti-
air, because it forces the units to use their Machine guns, while it can use
it's missiles to take them out. Just watch out for the support troops that
they may have hiding.
Best unit to use against B Cptrs: Anti-Airs, they can use the Vulcan guns to
take down you quick.
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T Cptr (Troop Copter)
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Cost: 5,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 2
Ammo: None, no weapons
Gas: 99
Description: This is just like the APC only its Airborne instead of ground
based. Unfortunately this unit can't re-supply units, but it doesn't have the
same moving penalties as an APC, which makes up for it.
Best Weapon to use Against T Cptrs: Anti-Airs, Missiles, and Fighters, all of
which can take out T Cptrs in one hit if they are fully stocked.
This is the last section of the units, and one of the least important sets.
You will probably use Sea troops less than you do Air and land troops, but that
doesn't make them unimportant. Most Sea troops are vulnerable to air troops so
make sure you have your own air troops or at least a cruiser or two to take out
the air threat.
For some reason, if a ship runs out of fuel, it sinks. I'm not sure why beyond
the fact that if it's out in sea there is no way to refuel it, so it just sits
there. So I guess that function serves a purpose.
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B Ship (Battle Ship)
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Cost: 28,000
Movement: 5
Vision: 2
Ammo: 9
Range: 2-6
Gas: 99
Description: This is the best distance unit in the game, because unless he has
sea or air troops he can't touch you. As with most of the distance weapons
you'll need a spotter for the use of this weapon. This weapon is best used as
a support for a land based assault, just don't rely to heavily on it, because
it can be easily taken out by an air unit.
Best unit to use against B Ships: Bombers, the Battle ship can't fight back,
but watch out for cruisers, which can easily take you out.
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Cruiser
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Cost: 18,000
Movement: 6
Ammo: 9
Gas:99
Description: This is the support unit for the B Ships or landers. It can only
fire on air troops and subs, so more than two of these ships is most likely
overkill.
Best unit to use against Cruisers: a B Ship, because the cruiser can't fight
back. If you have the chance a distance unit from the shore will also work in
a pinch.
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Lander
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Cost: 12,000
Movement: 6
Vision: 1
Ammo: No weapons
Gas: 99
Description: Landers are used for the sole purpose of getting troops from point
A to point B over water terrain. This unit can only land on shores, which are
placed on most places you'd want to land. The best way to use this unit is to
flank an enemy, or to attack his back, or flank. Make sure you have support
units with a lander, or you could lose your lander, and Md. Tanks can't swim.
Best unit to use against Landers: Dived Subs work well, because they can pop-up
hit the lander than leave before a cruiser can get to them.
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Sub
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Cost: 20,000
Movement: 5
Vision: 5
Ammo: 6
Gas: 60
Description: This unit is good for guerilla tactics, because you can see
everything you need to, and when dived the only way an enemy can see you is if
they are next to you, making surprise attacks simple. One thing to take note
is that when dived you use more gas, and your weapons do less damage. So if
you get a chance to, pop out of the water to hit your enemy.
Best unit to use against Subs: Cruisers, they can sink a sub like it wasn't
there.
In this section I will tell you all about the commanding officers, what modes
they can be used in, their CO power, what advantages and disadvantages they
have, as well as various strategies that you may not have thought of. If you
have any strategies that work well for a CO and you don't see it here, E-mail
it to me, and if it's good enough I may just put it in the guide (with credit
of course). Make a note that "how to unlock" is for Versus and War room modes
only, you can't play as anyone other than Andy, Max, and Sami in campaign mode.
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Andy
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Andy is your basic CO; all of his units are average. This has its high
points and it's low points. With Andy you'll want to focus on the enemies
weakness rather than focus on your strengths, because you don't have any.
Andy's CO power is "Hyper Repair" which increase HP on all of Andy's units, up
to ten HP.
Andy stacks up well against most of the COs, especially drake, because you
can use his CO power after drakes to heal all of your troops. Andy will have
trouble with COs like Nell and Kanbei, both of which have no shortcomings.
Who to use against Andy: Kanbei on maps with lots of resources, or Nell if you
have her.
How to unlock Andy: Unlocked by default.
Andy's best unit: Andy's best unit is the enemies weakest, so a Md. Tank
against Grit and Sami, and a Rocket against Max etc.
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Max
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Max is a direct fire specialist, he works best on tight maps. If you try to
use max on maps with lots of open places you are just asking for failure. Max
can be good in fog of war maps, but only if there is enough cover. Because max
is a direct fire specialist, all of his direct fire troops (Tanks, Subs,
Fighters, etc) get a 50% offensive bonus. However his distance units get a 10%
offensive deduction and 1 less square in their range. Which is a pretty good
trade-off compared to grit.
Max's CO power is called "Max power" (coughCHEESY!cough), in which all of
your direct fire units get 25% offensive bonus and 1 extra square of movement.
Max can school Sami and Eagle but has a problem with grit in maps with places
for grit to put his snipers.
Who to use against Max: Grit, his long distance fire is superb.
How to unlock Max: Unlocked by default.
Max's best unit: Md. Tank, something that strong should be illegal.
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Sami
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Sami is the infantry specialist, which makes her overlooked a lot of the
time. All of her infantry units (Infantry and Mechs) get a 20% bonus to
offense and a 10% to defense, and they capture buildings at 150% speed. So if
a full health mech gets on a building, the enemy has to damage it to 3 to not
allow capture of the building. The problem Sami has is with her other direct
fire troops who get a 10% offensive deduction.
Sami's CO power, "Double Time", is pretty good under the right conditions,
and charges quickly, so use it often. Her CO power gives all her infantry
units a 30% offensive bonus and a 20% defensive one, as well as an extra square
of movement, and a lack of moving penalties for that turn. Sami's transports
also have one extra movement built in, which is good for big levels when you
need to get an infantry somewhere quickly.
If you haven't figured it out, a good technique for Sami is to just build
mechs out the Yin-Yang. There is no way to stop this if you have more or the
same amount of factories as your opponent, because you will significantly out
number his troops.
Who to use against Sami: Max, because his direct fire units can hold off
infantry, but not mechs.
How to unlock Sami: Unlocked by default.
Sami's best unit: Mech, when used with tons of other mechs, it's "Uh Oh" time
for the enemy.
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Olaf
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Olaf is the weather driven CO, depending on the weather will depend upon his
troops performance. In snow he will cream you, but in rain you can walk on
him. Beyond that, his troops have no imbalances. So like Andy and Nell, you
would be best to focus on his enemies shortcomings for an offensive strike.
Olaf's CO power is stupid. All it does is make it snow for ONE TURN, what a
waste. In short, Olaf sucks, don't use him.
Who to use against Olaf: Anyone but sonja, he's the worst CO in the game except
for her.
How to unlock Olaf: Unlocked by default.
Olaf's best unit: Olaf's best unit is the enemies weak unit, IE a Md. Tank
against Grit or Sami, a Rocket aganst Max etc.
Grit is a sniper plain and simple. Though when it comes to bonuses he really
gets screwed. All of grits indirect units get one extra range, and that's it.
His direct attack units get a 20% offensive deduction. Doesn't that suck?
Grit's CO power is a different story, his indirect units get a 65% offensive
bonus and 2 range enhancements, after seeing Grit's "Sniper" attack you see why
he doesn't have all the fancy bonuses of the rest of the COs.
Grit works well in open maps, where he can retreat and fire, he also works
good in fog of war maps when you use a spotter. Grit's specialty is guerilla
tactics, and his long distance units reflect that.
Who to use against Grit: Max, because long distance units would be a waste
anyway.
How to unlock Grit: Choose Max on the mission "Max Strikes!"
Grit's best unit: Rockets, they can wipe out any (land) unit from a safe
distance.
Eagle is the Air Ace. His Air units are stronger than anyone else's with
their 10% bonuses to offensive and defensive abilities. However his sea units
get a 10% deduction to both offense and defense. Needless to say, Eagle is
best in maps with little or no water fighting. His troops also use less gas
per turn than other COs. Eagle's CO power, "Lightning Strike", is one of the
most devastating in the game. Basically all of his troops gain extra turn with
the exception of his infantry units. His CO power isn't without a catch
though, on the second turn all of his units get a 20% deduction to offense and
a 30% deduction to defense capabilities. Make sure when you use it, that you
aren't going to be attacked back by much, if anything, or you could lose a lot
of units.
Just to note, to use Eagle's CO power first do all of your moving for the turn,
then use the CO power, all of your units will get another turn then.
Who to use against Eagle: Max, his direct fire units are good because there is
no distance units in the air unit arsenal, so fighter vs. fighter, Max will
win. His A-Airs do a good deal of damage to eagle as well.
How to unlock Eagle: Choose Sami for all of the Green Earth missions. They are
the ones against Drake and Eagle.
Eagle's best unit: B Cptr, they are cheap and quite powerful in the hands of
Eagle.
Drake is an interesting, and underused CO with an amazing CO power. First,
all of his sea units get a 20% offense and defense bonus, with the same 20%
going to deduction for his air units. Which is better than eagle, because
there is more maps with Sea ports than Air ports. Anyway on to his CO power,
"Tsunami", basically, it damages all enemy units by 1 HP, but will not kill
units. This is very effective if before you go in with a huge frontal
offensive, because it weakens defenses of the other team.
Who to use against Drake: Andy, his Co power counters Drakes well.
How to unlock Drake: Choose Andy for all the Green Earth Missions. They are
the ones against Eagle and Drake.
Drake's best unit: B Ship, it's the best sea unit.
Kanbei has an Elite force, but that Elite level of training comes at a price.
All of Kanbei's units have a 20% bonus to both Offense and Defense, however
they also cost an extra 20%. Clearly Kanbei is good for any map with plenty of
resources, because he needs them. Beyond that he is good for basically any
map.
Kanbei's CO Power "Moral Boost" gives his troops an Extra 20% bonus to both
offense and defense, meaning if he turns this on, he can shred through even the
most hairy defense. You'll want to use this just as you are about to attack a
"bunkered in" base.
Who to use against Kanbei: Max, his %50 offensive bonus is enough to go toe to
toe with Kanbei's 20% defense. Just make sure Max attacks first.
How to Unlock Kanbei: Defeat Kanbei in his levels in 8 days, 10 days then 12
days in that order (there is three missions). Doing this will also unlock the
hidden missions where you fight Sonja.
Kanbei's best unit: Md. Tank, if you can afford it, it already has the fire
power, but with the upgrade...*drools*
Sonja, is quite possibly the worst CO EVER. Unless you are truly an elite
player, don't even think of selecting her. Basically, her units have a longer
vision, and you can't see their HP. There is a catch though, her units are
"unlucky" meaning her units will 10-20% less effective. Her CO power is also
weak, it just lets you see further, and through all of terrain types like it
wasn't there.
Who to use against Sonja: Anyone, she sucks ass.
How to unlock Sonja, remember Kanbei's Time limit? Do that (8,10,12 days in
his missions) to fight in 3 missions against Sonja. Defeat her to get her.
Sonja's best unit: Nothing, all of her units suck equally.
Sturm is the bad guy of the game, with the stupidest name ever. His music is
cool so that kind of makes up for it. Sturm's philosophy on fighting is "The
best defense, is a strong offense", which is made apparent by the fact that all
of his units have a 20% offensive bonus, and a 20% defensive deduction. Sturm
is best suited for maps with heavy terrain, because his units have no terrain
oriented moving penalties (they'll still be slowed by weather though).
Sturm's CO power is pretty good for the situations when the enemy has
bunkered into his base. His power, "Meteor Strike", sends down a huge rock that
does four damage to most of the units around the rock. The player can't
directly aim it, but it'll go to the highest concentration of enemy units on
the screen, regardless of fog of war conditions, which means you should move
your screen to the area giving you trouble and activate it.
How to unlock Sturm: Unlock all the other COs.
*Note*: Sturm is only playable in VS. mode, what a gip.
Who to use against Sturm: Use your favorites CO, because his units only have
the defensive imbalance so just make sure you attack first, and keep your units
spread out when his CO bar is charged.
Sturm's best unit: Rockets, your not likely to have them attacked back, so you
can use the bonus to your advantage.
Nell is the best CO in game, too bad you have to clear the advanced campaign
to get her. I personally don't have her, so all I can give you is some info on
her, if anyone could give me some suggestions it'd be appreciated.
Basically Nell is the opposite of Sonja, all of her troops are lucky, so they
will do 10-20% more damage than expected. I have no idea what her CO power
does, or is called for that matter.
In this section I will go over special strategic formations that I will use in
the walkthrough, most of these are pretty basic so if you've ever played a
strategic game you can probably just skip over this section. If you have any
other formations that I did not include here, feel free to send them to me
(Happybuddha311(at)aol(dot)com). I will also include a list of general
formations from Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War".
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The Convoy
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In a convey, the goal is to get a platoon of units together so they have no
weakness, only strength. This is best accomplished with a Md. Tank, recon (for
fog of war only) APC and Mech unit, Rocket and AA unit. In the formation the
Md. Tank will go first, followed by the recon, that way the tank can defend
everything, while the recon can scout ahead (in fog of war maps). Next should
come the Anti-Air, followed by the Missiles with the APC with the mech unit
inside bringing up the rear. The missile is used to weaken attacks, while the
APC and Mech are used for refueling and supplying as well as capturing bases.
The Anti-air is there to defend against an air attack (obviously).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mech/Infantry Onslaught Assault
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now this tactic won't get you any S ranks, but it will more than likely get the
job done. This will only work if you have as many or more bases then the
enemies do.
In this formation you just build Infantry units with all bases every turn, and
money permitting Mech units. The goal is to out number opponents, 3 or 4 Mech
units can take out a Md. Tank, and they only cost 9,000-12,000, while a Md.
Tank costs 16,000. Who gets the better end of the deal? There is also the
benefit Infantry and Mech units can cross mountain terrain, making it easy to
get in and out of places, regardless of terrain. This tactic works best with
sami as she has Mech and Infantry bonuses.
In this section I will be helping you through the campaign part of the game,
unlike other guides, you're going to have to do a little bit of thinking for
yourself, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. As you read through the
guide, you will start to understand the reasons for certain movements, and soon
you'll be able to play through the game with an all S-Rank.
An important thing to remember is that because the AI acts differently each
time, there is no way I can give you a solution to a map that will work every
single time. So please don't e-mail me saying, "I can't do it" because I won't
be able to help you much more than what I've already written here. Before you
start to read the actual walkthrough, I would like you to note that in the
final level you get to use 3 COs, Andy being one of them, while the other two
you can "pick". To "pick" these COs you must play as certain COs in certain
levels, depending on which CO you want you should do the following.
Left Side:
Max - Choose Andy in level 4, Max Strikes!
Olaf - Destroy all of Olaf's units in the level Olaf's Navy.
Grit - Choose Max in level 4, Max Strikes!
Right Side:
Kanbei - In the first Kanbei level, defeat him by at least 8 days, in the
second level 10 days, and in the third level 12 days. (Overrides Drake and
Sami)
Sami - Don't choose either all Andy or all Sami for all of the Green Earth
Missions, those are the ones with Drake and Eagle.
Drake - Choose Andy for all of the Green Earth Missions, those are the ones
with Drake and Eagle.
Eagle - Choose Sami for all of the Green Earth Missions, those are the ones
with Drake and Eagle. (Overrides Kanbei)
My personal favorite would be either Max or Grit in the left with either Eagle
or Sami on the left. (Max with Eagle and Sami with Grit) That way, they can
complement each other's styles, max should plow up Sturm's ground troops while
Eagle pummels his air troops. Or Sami gets in front and uses her infantry as
shields while Grit uses his distance units to wreck havoc on Sturm's army.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 1: IT'S WAR!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy, he's your only choice
Enemy CO: Olaf
In this mission you'll need to fight on both sides at the same time, try to
balance out your troops on each side. Near the end you'll have a problem with
a mid. Tank and a rocket protecting the base. To get around this, lure out the
tank with one of your stronger units into an ambush. Then use your Anti-Air
and Tank to get up next to the rockets without being hit and take that sucka
out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 2: Gun Fighter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy, he's your only choice
Enemy CO: Grit
You've got 2 factories, he has 0, all you have to do is protect your factories
from his infantry then use Tanks to get up and give his rockets a bad day.
Make sure you capture as many buildings as you can to have enough resources to
take on his sniper units.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 3: Air Ace
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy, he's still your only choice
Enemy CO: Eagle
Try to keep the transport helicopter safe from destruction, it will make this
mission much easier. Then just take an infantry with it, and put the
Helicopter in front of the troop on eagles HQ so it can protect the infantry
from the Tank. This mission is super easy.
However if eagle is skilled enough to take out your helicopter, then you'll
have to make a "Convey" strike, with tanks and rockets, see the formations
section for a better idea of this. Then just make sure you watch out for the
tank that will be your last obstacle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 4: MAX STRIKES!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Olaf
In this mission you'll want to hold off Olaf's assault while you clear out the
sea with your subs that are below the surface, if you strike correctly Olaf
can't touch them. Then just send over your lander and laugh all as he scrambles
to protect his unprotected HQ. This is a good example of "Flanking" also found
in the formations section.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 5: Sniper
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Grit
In this mission you'll want to use the fog of war to your advantage. What
you'll need to do is Leap frog from tree to tree to stay safe from grit's
snipers. When the area is clear you can use the road. Just make sure to keep
an eye on Grit's CO meter, if it hits full, and he has a spotter then all of
your troops that aren't protected by trees are screwed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 6: Blizzard Battle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Olaf
In this mission you'll need to capture 12 bases before Olaf does. To do this
you must capture one base on Olaf's side while keeping all of your bases. The
best thing to do is get to the top bridge ASAP; it's where Olaf will try to get
his 12th base. After that, grab the base on Olaf's side just after the bridge
in the middle of the level, this will be your 12th base.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 7: History Lesson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Grit
This map is pretty simple. Basically all you want to do is clear out all of
Grit's long distance units, then cross the sea at the highest point of map,
right next to Grit's HQ. Make sure you clear out his Battle ship on the right
side of his HQ.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 8: Sami's Debut
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Eagle
In this one you won't win by just killing off Eagle's troops, his planes can
swoop in from anywhere, your goal is to get to his HQ which is unprotected.
The best way is to get a T-Copter with an infantry unit go all the way across
the top of the map, then drop the unit when you get close. If you can get the
unit to the HQ he should remain unmolested.
The problem with that plan is that it often goes to hell, and you have to use a
convoy (see formations section) to capture that base. This is why Sami is not a
good choice for this mission, because if the plan does go to hell, then you'd
be fucked with Sami in charge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 9: Kanbei Arrives
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Kanbei
In this mission you'll need to do two things, first take out his sniper units,
then block the entry to your base using Med. Tanks and use your rocket units to
clear his troops, then take out his remaining troops using your tanks. If done
correctly you can win in 8 days.
If you win the next 3 mission in 8, 10 and, 12 days respectively, you get to
play against Sonja for the chance to get both Sonja and Kanbei as playable
characters in the War Room.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 10: Mighty Kanbei
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Sami
Enemy CO: Kanbei, *gasp* NO SHIT!
In this mission you'll notice that you have 3 bases and Kanbei has 0. SO what
you should do, is build three mechs per turn and only three mechs per turn.
You will receive ten thousand dollars at the beginning of each turn, which
gives you enough for 3 mechs and leaves $1,000 for repairs. All you have to do
is keep this up until you destroy all of Kanbei's units. This technique
probably won't get you the win in the ten-day window you'll need if you're
trying to play the bonus missions.
To do that, you'll need to use Andy, and just keep building Tanks to block out
the right side, all you need to do is take out the bottom side bridge and rush
an infantry unit in an APC to capture his HQ. If you plan correctly you can
get the ten-day window.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 11: Kanbei's Error?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Sami
Enemy CO: Yet again it's Kanbei.
In this mission you'll want to avoid that one little factory on the island next
to your base, you probably won't get it, so don't even try. The first thing
you'll want to do is take out Kanbei's bomber and his fighters. Then take your
fighter and take out his T Cptrs that way, he can't move his troops as fast.
From there you'll want to swarm all of your troops to the island in the center
just left of Kanbei's HQ to take his 3 bases, giving you a total of 15 bases,
wining the mission.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 12: Captain Drake
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Drake
Basically, your Offensive bonus for direct combat is higher than his sea troop
bonus, so strike first with your dived subs and this one should be cake. Just
remember to keep the Battle ships in sight in case the cruisers come to ruin
your party.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 13: Naval Clash
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Drake
The basic premise of this mission is just keep one unit safe for 10 turns,
pretty simple eh? All you need to do for this mission is stick the missile
unit in a lander and reef hop to the furthest reef in the north east corner.
Then hold off the onslaught of troops until turn ten is up. One thing you can
do as a last resort is take a dived sub with the lander to protect the lander
if something goes wrong. This mission shouldn't be that hard.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 14: Wings of Victory
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Eagle
In this mission you'll want to first take out eagles fighters using 2 of your
fighters to one of his fighters, a tactic you should have learned in basic
training, also try to have your anti-air units help clear them. Next you'll
want to use your bombers to clear his ground troops, to pave a way for your
ground troops, after all of that take what's left of your fighter squadron and
scramble them to attack eagle's bombers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 15: Battle Mystery (what's so mysterious about it?)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Andy
Enemy CO: Drake
This mission is a search and destroy mission, all you have to do is find the
lander and blow the hell out of it. The lander can be located in the reef
furthest away from you, look at the bottom of the map, you see that reef down
there? That's where it is, you shouldn't encounter much resistance as you
transverse the sea, just take a convoy of all your ships (except for the
landers) to deal with any enemies that pop up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 16: Andy Times Two (oh no! twice the corny dialogue)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of choice: Andy, and Eagle, though eagle will be there no matter what other
CO you pick.
Enemy CO: Robot Andy, or something, I really never figured out what the hell he
was...
In this one eagle does all the work for you. All you need to do is take a T
Cptr and a lander with troops and focus on capturing the other Andy's HQ.
That's all you need to do, just ignore everything else. Make sure the coast is
clear before you set down though, make sure his tanks are knocking on the door
to your HQ, which won't be long. So get your rear in gear.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 17: Enigma
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Sturm
This mission is tough. If you can't handle it though, you're really going to be
in deep shit on the next mission. The basic thing you'll want to do in this
mission is capture the Air base, so you gain air superiority. After that
capture the Boat yards to achieve sea superiority. After that just march into
Sturm's base with a huge line of Md Tanks and Rockets and knock the snot out of
him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission 18: The Final Battle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Andy, the best you could ask for is Sami and Grit as your
partners.
Enemy CO: Sturm
This Mission is INSANE. But it's possible to beat. The reason Sami and grit
make such good Co partners for this is because you can have Sami use her "Mech
Swarm" attack and just cross the mountains and capture, while Grit hammers away
from behind Sami's troops and Andy takes care of all the air units.
The first thing you'll want to do is get help to Andy RIGHT AWAY. If you don't
you could lose him early. After that just keep attacking from the middle and
the left and right sides respectively. The important thing is to not bunch up
your troops because Sturm will hit them. He will not ever hit a big swarm of
Sami's Mech Units, so feel free to squeeze them in as tight as possible.
This Mission takes planning, because while you control 3 COs you control all of
them in different turns, so you'll have to plan your attacks to make an
effective strike. Just make a plan in your head before every turn to make the
most effective strike.
In this Mission you'll want to control the Air, if you can achieve Air
Superiority, or at least keep Sturm grounded, you shouldn't have any surprises
to expect. Another important thing to note is, that Sturm's troops have a high
attack bonus, but they have a Defense deduction, so always make sure you attack
him, never stay in defensive mode. Always attack, attack, ATTACK! And you
should win this mission.
In this long awaited section, I will finally tell you how to beat all of those
war room missions, while quite a few are simple, beating some of the later ones
takes a real strategy. In here I won't give you step by step instructions, as
1) the AI is unpredictable, and 2) I don't want to take all the fun out of it
for you. If you need more help, then drop me an e-mail and I shall help you
out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spann Island
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Olaf
The key to winning this map is to get the buildings on the southeast island of
the map. If you control these you should win, as you'll have more resources.
This map is a good place to use blitzkreig, which is what the nazi's used.
Just rush in with Recon units and blast Olaf's troops up. Here's a challenge:
Try and defeat Olaf before he can use his CO Power.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moji Island
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Grit
Enemy CO: Grit
Using grit, both COs will be on an even playing field, try to bombard grit with
well placed sniper units. Getting the factory on the north east side is very
important, and if you manage to get all the western cities, your amount of
resources should crush him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duo Falls
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Kanbei
This map takes some skill, but isn't too difficult. What you'll want to do is
capture as much property as possible, use a transport copters to get to the
base in the middle of the map. Then build a fighter, to take care of the
Battle copters Kanbei will attack with, then Md. Tanks and tanks, set them up
in a blocking formation, then use your CO power and BLAM! Blast through
Kanbi's troops and capture all of the properties as you go. If your units need
healing, swap them out, and heal them and let them get back into action.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sole Harbour
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Drake
The most important point in this map is the middle land bridge. Take these
properties and use this as a choke point and you should win this map with
little trouble. Also try to stay out of the water, as Drake will take you to
school there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pivot Isle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Eagle
With his high direct combat skills, max's counter attacks can take out eagles
wimpy air bonus. The goal in this map is to take the island to the east, which
is in the center of the map, as well as the island in the south of your HQ.
Now block off all of land exits, build some fighters and bombers and let eagle
have it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land's End
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Grit
Enemy CO: Olaf
The main choke point here is where the land meets the main land. Here is a
good place to build up tanks and rockets. If you can push Olaf out of this
spot, you should march to victory. IMO this map looks kind of like France or
is it Italy? and it's pretty easy to see where people can draw the assumption
that advance wars was based off WW2.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kita Straight
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Grit
Enemy CO: Drake
Kita straight is a pretty easy map, using grit, line your shore with tanks and
rockets. Then blast a hole on the beaches and send in your troops. Not much
more to it then that. Make sure to watch out for subs. You can also use B-
Ships to support the troops as they land, and with the extra square of range
you can fuck up drake's B-ships as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Stormy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Grit or drake
Enemy CO: Olaf
This is a pretty easy map, using ships and distance units you should be able to
screw up olaf. All you need to do is hover around his base with B-Ships and
bomb whatever he makes, then sit outside his town with rockets and bomb them
some more. Zoom in with landers and mop up what's left.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ridge Island
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Sami
Enemy CO: Grit
This map is much to small for grit to work efficintly in, unless of course you
only have a few units. What does that tell you? Build an ass load of units.
Use Sami to swarm mechs that force grit to use his direct combat units, then
use your distance units to supplement the infantry/mech units.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mial's Hope
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Eagle
Use AA and Fighters with huge attack bonuses to destroy Eagle's air units.
Then mop up whatever ground units he did make. Easy as cake, but have you ever
tried making a cake? It's not that easy, so that saying is quite flawed. BAH!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bounty River
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Grit
Enemy CO: Sonja
This map is too easy. All you need to do is set up a distance base defense of
rockets along your coast, then suppress your enemy while you advance with
Transport boats filled with Md. Tanks. Then as your Md. Tanks clear a landing,
take some rockets and continue to blow through Sonja's defenses with the Md.
Tank/Rocket 1-2 combo. It may take a couple of days to put the rockets in
place though.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toil Ferry
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Eagle
Enemy CO: Grit
The goal in this map is to capture all of the Air ports. With Eagles Air-
superiority, Grit won't stand a chance. The key is to also bomb the crap out
of his Cruisers, but not with bombers, with rockets and Battle Ships. Try to
avoid grits long range Missile trucks, these could really screw you up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twin Isle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Sami
Enemy CO: Kanbei
This mission is a pain in the ass. Using the mech swarm is most likely the only
tactic that works at all on this map. I'm sure max has a trick or two that
could be used, but this is the only one that has produced results for me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dire Range
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Max
Enemy CO: Eagle
Use Max's strong attack bonuses to take eagle's men out of the sky. If you
can, try and capture that air port to the west of Eagle's H.Q. That could make
a big difference in winning and getting trashed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Egg Island
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Drake
Enemy CO: Drake
Keep the fighting on the water, and sneak some ground troops around back to
flank drake. He'll be too busy spending all of his resources on water units he
won't notice until it's too late. Just make sure you don't lose all of your
landers in the process.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terra Maw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Sami
Enemy CO: Sonja
The key to this map is to use sami's speed to get up to the top of the map
where sonja has a little army to capture with, before it turns into a big army
to capture with. From there blast her with bombs and battle ships as well as a
Md. Tank based ground assault and you should have no trouble with this one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stamp Islands
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Drake or Eagle
Enemy COs: Kanbei and Olaf
In this map you'll want to choose between sea or air. Which ever you pick, you
must stick with it all the way through the map and not let the enemy get a
footing in the one you pick. Taking out Kanbei first is strongly recommended,
or you can waste Olaf quickly then using all of his supplies, take out Kanbei.
It's up to you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rivers Four
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Your best CO
Enemy COs: Grit and Max
Grit is a much bigger threat here, but not at first, so you need to zoom in and
screw him up A.S.A.P. Let max beat you up a little, as soon as you capture
grit's stuff, he's toast. Just make sure to guard the H.Q. if it gets taken,
all is lost.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring Islands
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Drake
Enemy COs: Drake and Sonja
In this mission I highly recommend that you take out Sonja and her weak troops
first, then attempt to take out Drake using the resources you gained from
Sonja. This way you can concentrate on the real threat in this mission, Drake.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Mission
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co of Choice: Sami
Enemy COs: Eagle and Sami
Believe it or not, this mission is really easy. What you have to do is build a
transport helicopter and an infantry unit and when the time is right, fly it
and capture Eagles's HQ. Then when you do capture it, you'll gain all of his
properties and his money, so you can just walk all over Sami.
If you've never read one of my guides before (which is highly likely). I use
this section to give you little challenges that I have thought up so you can
find out how good you really are, or just to get a little more life out of the
game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Challenge 1: Back to Basics.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basically, all you have to do is go back to "Field training" and complete the
"Dog Fight" mission in 2 turns. It really isn't that hard, but it does take
some careful planning to get it.
Hello, thank you for reading this guide. If you cared enough
to read this far, I might as well entertain you. I'm a 16 year old Virgo and I
will be a senior (when the school year starts again) at Millard North High
School. In my free time I am either on the Gamefaqs message boards (Current
events, The FAQ contributor Social Board, or the punk board), or playing my
Xbox, Ps2, or my NES. With whatever time is left, I sell tacos in a little
shack by the side of the road for little more than minimum wage (I recently got
a Raise now I make $6 an hour! WOOO), which is slowly taking over my life with
it's "OMG WE GIVE j00 more hours than j00 wantz0rz Benny FWARG!" attitude.
Then I use my time machine to travel back in time, and fit playing hockey into
my schedule. This was my fourth FAQ/Walkthrough, and I feel that writing
walkthroughs has really given me something better to do than watch some of the
crap on television now days.
This FAQ is for personal use only. You can print it or parts of it for that
reason only. Do not copy any part of this document and claim it as your own or
you will be guilty of plagiarism, which is punishable by law. If you post it on
your site without giving me full credit, publish it, use it in any kind of
promotional way, or use it in any way for personal gain (i.e. a pay only site),
civil and/or criminal charges can and will be pressed against you. The newest
version of this FAQ can always be found at www.GameFAQs.com and Ign.com and if
you see this anywhere without credit to me please let me know. This document is
(c)Ben Semisch AKA Happybuddha311; 2002 - 2003
(Thanks to Laura (L621) for letting me borrow her copyright info)
*******************************************************************************
If you would like to host this guide, just give up, there is no way I'm going
to let you host it. If you steal it, that is theft and I will pursue you in
the court of law. It'd be real nice to have a new car, so if you think I'm
joking, go ahead and try posting this guide on your site without my permission.
