Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics FAQ
Game by SystemSoft
US Localization by Kemco
for XBox
Game and all game content copyright 2004-5 Kemco, SystemSoft, and KoolKizz
This document is copyright 2005 JVGFanatic
Current Version is work in progress:
Version .94a - added section on Caputure (D7CAPT) still need table data
- added Insightful Thoughts section
- added Jack Power's country descriptions
- added Jack Power's PC Daisenryaku Game list
- added a missing Daisenryaku game from the Console
SystemSoft game list
- updated pushbutton cheats list
- filled out some mission information
- added an awesome TOA by Elric James Colvill (D7TOA*)
This faq contains SPOILERS for Dai Senryaku VII for XBox. This should be obvious
though...it's a faq.
Currently, the latest published version of this document resides at
gamefaqs.com. Should you have any questions about this document make sure you
have the latest published version. A version obtained anywhere other than
gamefaqs.com is considered out of date.
===============================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
===============================================================================
(Command/Control - F with the (D7ABCD) terms will allow you to jump directly to
the noted section quickly.
Introduction
FAQ Still Needs
What is Dai Senryaku VII?
Frequently Asked Questions........................(D7FAQS)
General Information...............................(GENINF)
Basic Gameplay Instructions
About Mission Mode
About Free Play Mode
Making, Producing, and Placing of Units
Unit Movement
Unit Visibility, Detection, and Fog of War.....(DETFOG)
Facility Detection Ranges Table
Capturing......................................(D7CAPT)
Units and Packages
Aircraft and Landing
Loading and Unloading
How Supply Works
Airdrop Units
ECM and Jamming
Edit Mode
Controls
Notes for Map Editor
Dai Senryaku VII Reference Guide..................(D7REFR)
D7's Menus
In Game OPTIONS
Unit Commands
The Countries of Dai Senryaku VII.................(D7CNTR)
Japan
USA
UK
Russia
Germany
France
Israel
China
Tactical Operation Analysis.......................(D7TOA*)
Basic Gameplay Tips...............................(D7TIPS)
Terrain in Dai Senryaku VII.......................(D7TERR)
Table: Defense and Aircraft Landing Ability
Movement Costs
Table: Vehicle and Aircraft Movement
Table: Submarine and Ship Movement
Mission Mode Mission Overviews....................(MISOVR)
Walkthrough Introduction
Mission 1: Training Exercise
Mission 2: Capturing Facilities
Mission 3: Crescent Bridge
Mission 4: Merchant Defense
Mission 5: Southern Reef Forces
Mission 6: Attack From The Deep
Mission 7: Forest Stronghold
Mission 8: Vermillion Keys
Mission 9: Hot and Cold
Mission 10: Border Dispute
Mission 11: Hotsands Offensive
Mission 12: Sea Monster
Mission 13: Lost World
Mission 14: Black Gold
Mission 15: Snow Shell
Mission 16: Search for Hope
Mission 17: Arctic Rescue
Mission 18: Boa Strike
Mission 19: Crimson Revolt
Mission 20: Scarlet Breakout
Mission 21: Aim for Power
Mission 22: Golden Citadel
Mission 23: The Beachhead
Mission 24: Entrenched
Mission 25: Day of Revolution
Insightful Thoughts...............................(D7THAWS)
Free Play Map List................................(D7FREEP)
Free Play Maps
Mission Mode Maps
Bonus Maps
Free Play map Strategies
Unlockables/Codes/Exploits........................(D7CODES)
Passcodes
Button Codes
Unlockable Units
Unlockable Maps
Exploits
Unit Types
Average Total Firepower Per Unit Type Per Country
Unit Reference Lists
Capture Capable Units
Supply Capable Units
Errata
In-Game
Manual
Glossary
Acronyms
Terms
Links
Credits
Version History
Contact
Hello, welcome to this FAQ for Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics for
XBox. Herein I will attempt to provide you with as much detail about this game
as I can. I would like to hear about anything you discover that I might have
missed in my FAQ (hey, I'm not perfect!). Should there be anything that you'd
like to have included then please send along a note to:
jvgfanatic AT hotNOSPAMmail DOT com (of course remove the NOSPAM bit there...)
Should you send an email to that address be sure to put "Daisenryaku" in the
title so I know what it's about...if you don't then I'll just delete it as spam.
If you find you have a better strategy for a mission, or perhaps just a better
idea of how to handle a mission then PLEASE let me know. I will add you as a
contributor to the FAQ and everyone will get the benefit of your mad skillz.
All that being said I do hope you enjoy your stay in my little faq and should
you have any questions don't hesitate to ping me.
What the faq still needs
------------------------
- Always, I'm looking for better strategies, exploits, etc... so if you have any
then send em along.
What is Dai Senryaku VII?
-------------------------
Dai Senryaku VII is the second game in the Daisenryaku series to be released in
the states. The first Daisenryaku game to make it over to the states was called
"Iron Storm" and it was released on the Saturn by Working Designs. The
Daisenryaku series has traditionally been World War II based however a few games
in the series, including this one, have stepped out of the series' historical
shoes. While Dai Senryaku VII uses units representative of modern day warfare it
is anything but historical. The game itself is rather deep but it's not as deep
as some of the previous Daisenryaku games.
The title "Dai Senryaku" or "Daisenryaku" means "Grand Strategy" and it is
indeed grand. Games are played on maps that are 64x64 hexes large and each
country can have up to 50 units in play at once. While at first glance that may
not seem like a lot, it can get overwhelming if you don't have a good handle on
the unit types. Fortunately the game incorporates a nice learning curve into its
mission mode so that by mission 5 or 6 you'll start pushing units around without
having to refer to the reference screens.
A brief list of previous console games (all Japanese) in SystemSoft's
Daisenryaku series:
1988.10.11 Daisenryaku - Famicom
1989.04.29 Super Daisenryaku - Megadrive
1990.04.27 Super Daisenryaku - Turbo CD
1991.06.12 Daisenryaku - Gameboy
1991.06.21 Advanced Daisenryaku - Megadrive
1991.09.28 Daisenryaku G - Gamegear
1991.11.21 Lord of Wars - Turbo CD
1992.05.29 Campaign-Han Daisenryaku II - Turbo CD
1992.09.25 Daisenryaku Expert - Super Famicom
1995.09.22 World Advanced Daisenryaku Kotetsu no Ikusakaze - Saturn
1996.03.15 World Advanced Daisenryaku Saksen Fire - Saturn
1996.03.29 Daisenryaku: Players Spirit - Playstation
1996.05.08 Iron Storm - Saturn - (USA - Release)
1996.08.30 Daisenryaku Expert WWII - Super Famicom
1997.06.27 Daisenryaku Strong Style - Saturn
1998.12.03 Daisenryaku: Master Combat - Playstation
1999.02.04 Cyber Daisenryaku - Playstation
2000.06.21 Advanced Daisenryaku Europe no Arashi - Dreamcast
2001.04.26 Advanced Daisenryaku 2001 - Dreamcast
2001.12.07 Daisenryaku for Gameboy Advance - Gameboy Advance
2002.09.26 Daisenryaku 1941 - Playstation 2
2003.05.29 Daisenryaku VII - XBox
2004.11.11 Standard Daisenryaku: Dengekisen
2005.02.16 Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics - XBox (USA Release)
2005.06.02 Standard Daisenryaku: Shiwareta Shouri
2005.12.20 Daisenryaku Portable - PSP
2005.12.22 Sega Ages Vol. 22 Advanced Daisenryaku Deuch Dengeki Sakusen
2006.05.25 Daisenryaku DS Nintendo - DS
2006.12.14 Daisenryaku VII Exceed - PS2
2006.12.14 Daisenryaku Portable 2 - PSP
2007.12.12 Dai Senryaku VII Exceed - PS2 (USA Release)
TBA.2008 Daisenryaku VII Exceed Portable - PSP
World Advanced Daisenryaku Kotetsu no Ikusakaze became Iron Storm when Working
Designs brought it over to the US.
Fellow Daisenryaku Fanatic and FAQ author Jack Power has this list to provide,
these are recent Daisenryaku titles released for the PC. Note that these are
Japanese games and may require specific software to run on a OSes other than
Japanese. I cannot provide instructions or support for this however a good
google search should yield what you need.
Jack Power has the following to say about the PC series:
FYI, the "gendai" games, 200X series, and Perfect games are all modern war
games a la DSVII. I've written a FAQ on Daisenryaku Perfect, which is
undoubtedly the best installment in the series (especially 2.0).
As an aside: SystemSoft, the makers of Daisenryaku have done some other
projects. Here are as many as I could find at the moment:
1991.07.26 Master of Monsters - Megadrive
1997.07.31 Master of Monsters - Playstation (JP & US)
1996.10.25 Master of Monsters Neo Generation - Saturn
1991.02.15 Master of Monsters - PC Engine (SCD)
The following questions have been seen on message boards relating to the game. I
have done my best to answer them however should you have any questions either
send them to me at the contact address found at the beginning and end of this
document or post them on a message board (gamefaqs or kemco) and it's likely I
will see them. Also, if my answers aren't clear enough or complete enough here,
contact me. Thanks.
You can copy and paste the following questions into your Find feature to quickly
jump to the appropriate section.
What does the title "Dai Senryaku VII" mean?
How many maps/games can I save?
How many players does Dai Senryaku VII support for multiplayer?
Can you see the computer's (or your enemy's) move?
Does this game have fog of war?
Does Dai Senryaku VII work over XBox Live?
What countries are included?
Can I play as any country in the game?
How is the AI in the game?
How historical is the game?
How's the game balance?
What type of stats does this game keep? Like post battle data or post campaign
data, is there any and if there is how in depth is it? (DolemiteXP)
Is Support taken into account?
What does Stealth do?
What does Experience do and what to Levels to?
How is Ranking after a Mission Done?
What units can I land on aircraft carriers?
How do I land an air unit?
How do you change altitude?
Are the cheats/unlockables permanent?
What does the (WT) and (D7) mean next to some of the units?
What does the title "Dai Senryaku VII" mean?
It means "Grand Strategy" in Japanese. It's a series of games that
has represented World War II with a few exceptions, this XBox edition
is one of those exceptions. The last Daisenryaku (it's one word in
Japanese) game to come over to America was Iron Storm for the Saturn.
Iron Storm was localized by Working Designs.
How many maps/games can I save?
There are 8 slots for Mission saves, 8 slots for Free Mode saves and
8 slots for maps that you've created. This may not seem like a lot,
and it is not a lot actually. You can save these things to memory cards
as well but the 8 slots is pretty sparse.
Is this game ever coming to the UK?
There is distinct possibility, hop on over to the KEMCOGAMES.COM boards
and let your voice be heard. As of July 2005 there is still no official
word.
How many players does Dai Senryaku VII support for multiplayer?
Up to 4, any combination of allies on any controller. When you start a
map you can set alliances between players and each player presses the A
button on the controller that they want to use (so each player can use
their own controller or you can mix and match).
Can you see the computer's (or your enemy's) move?
Does this game have fog of war?
"Fog of war" is in effect and unlike previous games in the Daisenryaku
series there is no option to turn it off. Each unit has a detection
area (scan area) that extends in every direction around the unit
including vertically. If an enemy unit moves into your unit's
detection area then you'll see it. Likewise if you move your unit
everything along it's path will be seen (given it's detection area).
If the game is set to all computer players then you can see each of
the teams as they move.
Note: There is a button code to turn off Fog Of War in Mission Mode.
Does Dai Senryaku VII work over XBox Live?
No. If you have an Action Replay you can trade save files with your friends
however you have to trust that your friends won't look at your units.
Earlier versions of Daisenryaku allowed you to password protect each player
in the game so as to prevent this but D7 has no online play to speak of nor
does it show you as playing it when your friends look at their friends
lists.
What countries are included?
US, UK, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, France and China.
Can I play as any country in the game?
In Mission Mode you are forced to play as whatever country the computer has
set for that mission. in Free Play mode you can play as any country and
each map can have any combination of countries and allies as long as there
are at least 2 opposing sides. You can even have units of the same
nationality opposing one another.
How is the AI in the game?
It's as good as you want it to be. Set yourself up against 3 other allied
countries with good defensible terrain and it won't matter how the AI is.
The Mission Mode will be a cakewalk if you're a seasoned strategy gamer
and it will allows strategy game newbies to have sort of an ultimate
tutorial. Free Play where you can set battles up the way you like it is
where the meat is. There are three levels of computer opponents: Easy,
Normal, and Hard.
How historical is the game?
Not at all, while some of the maps are representative of real-life places
and most of the units are representative of real military units the game
has a decidedly fictional feel to it. This is a departure from (most)
previous games in the Daisenryaku series.
How's the game balance?
It really depends on the terrain you are fighting on and the country you
are playing as. Given "Plains" terrain and equal forces some countries
have a stronger air-force while others have better armor. It does balance
out and who wants to fight a totally balanced war anyway?
What are the best units in the game?
Well, it depends on the terrain you are fighting on and who you are up
against. The game doesn't use a rock/paper/scissors algorithm for unit
strength's and weaknesses. Without a question though the Cyber Ninja can
wreak the most havok and totally destroys any balance should you choose to
use it. Arguably the Leopard is the strongest tank.
What type of stats does this game keep? Like post battle data or post campaign
data, is there any and if there is how in depth is it? (DolemiteXP)
The only real stats it keeps track of are the units you save in Free Mode
(you can save 20 units per country and relaunch them in future Free Mode
battles). When they die in those battles (if they die) they die for good.
You can always create a new unit of the same type though at a low level.
There are E, D, C, B, A, and S ranks for each units. This is how their
level is measured. Thier hit percentage goes up, I'm not sure what else
is affected by this level.
In Mission Mode (equivalent to Campaign Mode) you simply progress from
one mission to the next, nothing is held over from one battle to the next
however you do unlock units and maps for free mode play while playing
Mission Mode. Nothing extra is unlocked based on Rank (as far as I could
tell).
Is Support taken into account? In other words, if I surround an enemy will I do
more damage when I attack then if I was just attacking from one side?
Sadly, support effects do not seem to be taken into consideration. Whether
you are attacking from one side or have the enemy surrounded the
percentages are the same (except when it comes to facing, which IS taken
into consideration).
What does Stealth do?
Word from Kemco is that it affects the detection ability of enemy units
though I've not observed this personally. To my best interpretation
ability their claim should mean that if a unit ends its move at the outer
edge of a unit's detection range then it's Stealth should allow it to
remain undetected. Now of course there are a ton of caveats there and it
should be taken with a grain of salt.
Jack Power of PC Daisenryaku fame claims that this is the way it works in
Daisenryaku Perfect. If a unit's stealth rating is high enough then it
should only be detectable if it is *very* close to the detecting unit...
At this point the jury is still out as to how DS7 handles stealth.
What does Experience do and what to Levels to?
As units fight in a battle they gain experience. When they gain a certain
set amount of experience they gain a level. They then go through the
process again to gain another level. Levels are graded E through S as
follows:
E - Go back to school
D - Much grief in the homeland
C - No historical significance
B - We bad
A - I hope they brought their own coffins
S - Hoorah!
As mentioned in a previous question there are 6 experience levels in Dai
Senryaku 7. When playing in Free Mode you can place saved units (that have
gained experience) into the battle. These units are NOT permanent however
as you must beat the mission and re-save them in order to use them again.
At any rate: what do these experience levels affect:
Hit Rate Percentage
Apparently also Range (particularly artillery units)
How is Ranking after a Mission Done?
While we don't have access to the data for ranks at the various levels we
can tell you that there are graded with the typical ranking system S is
best, A+ is second best, A is third best A- then the B's and C's and so on.
What units can I land on aircraft carriers?
Anything with a LOAD value of AIR in the unit info.
Carrier Capable Aircraft
-----------------------------
USA
F/A-18 Hornet (all variants)
F/A-18E Super Hornet
E-2C Hawkeye
S-3B Viking
F-14 Tomcat
F-35B
E/A-6B
How do I land an air unit?
The "Land" command should be available as long as you are no more than a
single altitude level above the surface you plan to land on. In other words
if you are in a helicopter flying over a road then you'll need to be at
"LOW" altitude in order to land. If you were that same helicopter over a
carrier type unit at sea then you'd need to be at "GROUND" altitude in
order to land (ground is one level above surface).
How do you change altitude?
After selecting the move command on an airborne unit a menu appears on
the right side of the screen. Press the Y button to cycle between available
altitudes. Your visible movement range will be adjusted as you change
altitude.
Are the cheats/unlockables permanent?
The button codes (X, B, W, etc...) are turned off after a restart of the
system however the pass-codes are permanent and cannot be turned off unless
the main game save file is erased (also erasing mission progress).
What does the (WT) and (D7) mean next to some of the units?
I can find no real life (Google) reference to the D7 and WT units (though
plenty of plagiarized references to the codes I posted here :). If some
military hardware geek wants to comment we'd all be most grateful.
One observation: the Cobra WT's detection range is...nice. I'm interested
in hearing what others have to say about using these units.
===============================================================================
GENERAL INFORMATION (GENINF)
===============================================================================
Daisenryaku is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal grid. A
collection of units--referred to as an Army--from each country participating in
the battle are arranged on this grid in a strategic manner. Each unit has
strengths and weaknesses particular to its type. Utilizing the strengths of your
army while exploiting weaknesses in the enemy until you satisfy victory
conditions is the core of the gameplay in Dai Senryaku VII.
Each country participating in a battle takes its turn by moving and taking
action with some, all, or none of its units. Actions in Dai Senryaku consist of
Resupply, Moving, Attacking Enemy Units, Combining Units, Producing and Placing
Units, Loading Units onto Transports, and Capturing Facilities.
The maps in Dai Senryaku VII consist of various terrain elements that have to be
traversed by your army. Building an army appropriate to the terrain they are
fighting on is key to success in D7. In addition to the land there are also
"Facilities" consisting of Ports, Cities, Refineries, Factories, and Capitals.
There is only one Capital per country and the taking of an enemy capital means
the defeat of that enemy. Facilities are either owned by a country or they are
neutral, each facility possessed by a country brings that country strategic and
material benefits.
Victory in Dai Senryaku VII is achieved by satisfying the particular victory
conditions of the scenario if in Mission Mode however the taking of an enemy
capital will always cause a win in any mode.
There are 3 modes of play in Dai Senryaku VII plus a Tutorial to help you
understand some of the basics of the game. The three modes of play are: Mission
Mode, Free Play Mode, and Map Edit Mode. Map Edit mode will be discussed in more
depth later, until then let's concentrate on Mission Mode and Free Play Mode
since they are the primary meat of the game.
About Mission Mode
------------------
Mission Mode allows you to play a series of battles that tell the story of Blue
Army (you) versus Red Army (the enemy). There are 25 missions in all and each
mission (usually) adds something new to the mix, either it encourages you to use
a new strategy or it introduces new units. While in the abstract you are Blue
army, in fact you'll be playing as each of the game's countries. Your units do
gain experience in a battle however that experience cannot be carried to the
next fight. Continuity from one mission to the next is found in the story that
unfolds as you play through Mission Mode.
Since the maps are pre-set and have directives you can see Mission Mode as a
giant tutorial. The missions, should you be happy with B, A, and S ranks
shouldn't take you too long to complete. Free Mode (which I'll discuss in a
moment) end up offering more in terms of level count and freedom to build your
own strategy.
About Free Play Mode
--------------------
Free Play Mode consists of a collection of maps with no story. Instead of
starting with a pre-built army you must build your army using the resources that
your army has at its disposal. In addition, before starting a free play game,
you can set the participating countries. With 112 maps (after completing Mission
Mode) available to you in Free Play mode it's sure to keep you busy for some
time.
Here are the options when starting a Free Play game.
Players: You can set the player for each participating army to one of Human,
Easy Computer, Normal Computer, or Hard Computer. If there are 3 or 4
participating armies you can turn off participants until there are only 2 left.
Countries: You can set the nationality for each participating army. This
determines the units that the country can create. You can set all the
participants to the same country or they can be a mixture of different
nationalities.
Funds: This allows you to set the starting funds for each country. Starting
funds are a determining factor in just how fast your army can build itself up.
Fuel: This is where you can set the starting fuel for each participating
country.
Allies: In battles with 3 or 4 participating armies you can set any combination
of allies (as long as there are at least 2 opposing armies).
Free Play Mode offers another feature not found in Mission Mode: Unit
Persistence or the ability save units from a winning battle for use in later
battles. As a unit fights it gains experience. If enough experience is earned a
unit will rise in level. Levels of units progress in rank from E to S. Each
country can have up to 20 units saved. If a saved unit is lost in battle then
the saved unit is lost for good.
Two caveats to the saving and placing of units:
- Should an ALLY win the battle then you will get to save your units as if YOU
had won.
- Should the battle come to a draw (reaching the turn limit before any captial
is captured) then you won't get to save any placed units and will lose any that
you've placed.
Afraid of Losing Units? Judicious saving and use of the button code "Instantly
Win FREE PLAY MAP" button code will prevent you from losing any units due to the
99 turn limit but you will end the game immediately as the victor.
Making, Producing, and Placing of units
---------------------------------------
You can produce units in any of the six hexes surrounding your capital as long
as the terrain in the hex is appropriate for the unit you wish to create. You
can also create units at airports, ports, and cities that are within 5 hexes of
your capital.
In order to create units you must have funds. Funds are earned every turn based
on how many facilities you control. Produce units by pressing the A button in
the hex where you want the unit produced. if production is possible you'll get
either a list of units that you can produce OR you'll see a PLACE menu option.
This menu allows you to place units that you've saved from previous battles.
After producing or placing a unit you must choose that unit's facing. Units
cannot move on the turn that they are produced however they may move on the
following turn.
CAPITALS can create vehicle, artillery, and infantry type units in the capital's
hex or any of the six surrounding hexes, terrain allowing.
CAPITALS and elligible CITIES can create vehicle, artillery, and infantry type
units.
AIRPORTS can create aircraft including all helicopters.
PORTS can create sea going vessels.
FACTORIES and REFINERIES are two other kinds of owned facilities however neither
of them can produce units.
Unit Movement
-------------
Each unit has a "Standard" and "High" movement rate. When you select a unit on
the field and choose the Move command an area surrounding the unit is hilighted
in bright green. The hexes that are painted green are all within that unit's
Standard movement range. There may also be hexes hilighted in red. Red hexes
fall within that unit's High movement range.
Each hex within the standard movement range costs 1 fuel point to traverse.
Moving to a red hex costs twice as much fuel FOR THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF MOVEMENT.
I capitalize this last part to make it clear that a move into a red hex will
cost double the fuel for the entire move.
Once you arrive at your destination hex and press the A button to confirm the
destination you'll get a chance to change the facing of your unit. Facing does
affect combat results so be sure to choose wisely.
The MARCH Command
Another way to move is to "March" your units. To "March" choose that command
instead of "Move". You'll then be given a chance to set a destination for your
unit. Each turn until the unit reaches that destination you can press the Y
button (by default) and bring up a menu which has a "March All Units" option.
Choosing that option will cause all of your units with "March" orders to move
toward their destiation along the most economical path. You'll get a message
informing you of a unit arriving at its destination when that time comes.
If you are concerned about a units exact position as it nears it's march
destination it's usually wise to assume command of that unit manually rather
than letting the March command move for you. The reason for this is that when a
unit reaches the end of its march it will end its turn even if it has additional
movement points. It's better if you control the unit so you can use those
remaining points wisely.
Unit Visibility, Detection, and Fog of War (DETFOG)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You will likely notice that some areas of the map are dimmed while those areas
surrounding your units and your cities are clear. You can see the terrain in a
dimmed area of the map but if there are enemy units there they would be
concealed. This is known as "fog of war" and while it doesn't really represent
"fog" it does represent the capability of units to see other units.
Each unit has a detection range that surrounds it in all directions and it's
altitude specific as well. This detection range is found in the unit info
screen. Enemy units that fall within a units detection range are visible to all
units. This means you can use a recon vehicle with high detection ranges to
scout enemies in an area that might be targetable by artillery despite that
artillery having a relatively small detection range.
The only thing that can affect detection range adversely is ECM which I discuss
below in the section entitled, oddly enough, ECM.
Finally, facilities have detection abilities too. You'll notice that all of your
cities (and othe facilities) are surrounded by some clear hexes (defogged, that
is). This is because each facility does have a detection range as is outlined in
the table below:
Capturing Facilities and Capitals
----------------------------------------------------------------------(D7CAPT)
In order to make money (and repair, refuel, etc...) you'll need to capture
facilities. Facilities include Capitals, Cities, Airports, Ports, Factories, and
Refineries. Units capable of capturing cities have abilities of either CAP or
M+C (Capture, Move & Capture)
Capturing a capital defeats that army.
Each facility brings in income as shown in the table below:
FACILITY FUNCTIONS (thanks to mortar)
Facility Income +Fuel Repair Resup MkAir MkGrnd MkShip
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital 500 100 Y Y N Y N
City 50 - Y Y N Y N
Airport - - Y1 Y1 Y N N
Port - - Y2 Y2 N N Y
Factory 300 - N N N N N
Refinery - 500 N M M M M
Y1 = Only Aircraft and Helicopters
Y2 = Only Ships and Subs
Units and Packages
------------------
When constructing a unit you might have the opportunity to change its weapons
loadout. Each combination of weapons and fuel is known as a "Pack"(age). An
example of a unit that we use all the time that comes in multiple packages is
the Infantry unit. When creating an infantry unit you can build it with a heavy
AT Rocket loadout or a loadout more balanced for taking out an air unit (SAM).
Press Left or Right at the unit list when producing a unit and you'll select one
of that unit's packages. When viewing a units stats you can select between
packages when viewing either unit or weapon info.
Air units can change their packages in mid battle at airports. Ships can change
their packages in mid battle at sea ports.
Aircraft and Landing
--------------------
In order to land a flying craft you have to make sure that you are over the
proper terrain and that you are at the correct altitude. Landing usually means
resupplying and if you end your move at the wrong altitude that means waiting an
extra turn before you can land.
To land at an airport (or on the ground, if the unit is a helicopter or VTOL
unit) the unit must be at LOW altitude over the desired landing area. To land on
an aircraft carrier the unit must be at GROUND altitude. Aircraft cannot land at
a carrier while that carrier is in Port.
To see a list of landable terrains for aircraft types check the "Defense and
Aircraft Landing Ability" table further down in this document.
Loading and Unloading units
---------------------------
Some units are capable of transporting other units. In order to load units onto
a transporting unit you simply need to move the unit to be transported to the
transporting unit. If a unit is transporting other units then those units are
shown in iconic form below the transporting unit's name. You can also see a
detailed list of transported units by pressing A on the transporting unit then
choosing "Unload"
To unload transported units you press A on the transporting unit and choose the
Unload command. This will allow you to move the unloaded unit. Newly unloaded
infantry can even move and capture.
How Supply Works
----------------
As units move and fight they use supplies. Moving costs fuel points while combat
uses ammo. Once a unit's fuel is gone that unit can no longer move, likewise
when a unit's ammo is gone that unit can no longer participate in combat. Ammo
is tracked separately for each weapon that a unit possesses. Air units that run
out of fuel mid-flight crash. Also, airborne air units consume fuel even if they
don't move.
In addition, each unit consists of up to 10 sub-units though many aircraft and
ships have one to two sub-units. As units take damage in combat each sub-unit
might lose hit points and if a sub-unit's hit points are reduced to zero that
sub-unit is eliminated from the unit. Some forms of re-supply also replenish a
unit's sub-units.
There are two sources for supply in Dai Senryaku VII. The first are facilities.
Ports can supply ships and fuel for ships while Cities and your Capital can
supply sub-units and fuel for your ground units. Airports can supply fuel and
sub-units for helicopters and planes.
The other source of supply are supply units such as Support Tankers, Supply
Ships, Aircraft Carriers, and Re-fueling planes. Planes can be refueled by a
refueling plane however they can only replenish ammo at an airport or carrier.
Supply Vehicles carry a limited number of supplies. You can see how much
Resupply Material (ammo) remains on a vehicle by pressing the A button with the
unit on the map. A unit's supply information cannot be found on the Unit Info
screen (d'oh). A supply unit's fuel is shared for its own movement and the
refueling of other units.
Each supply point (in a Supply Truck or ship) can resupply an entire unit's
ammunition and fuel no matter how much fuel or ammo the unit has used. It's more
economical to supply a unit that is almost out of fuel and/or ammo than it is to
supply a unit that has used very little of either.
Another supply tip that I've found useful is that helicopters can land next to a
supply truck and resupply just like any vehicle. Portable airports for
helicopters? Not quite, like any other vehicle, helicopters cannot replenish
sub-units in the field, they have to get to an airport for that kind of premium
service.
Finally, thank you to darkwing105 (of the gamefaqs board) for reminding me how
to supply units that are loaded on to carriers when Auto Resup is set to Off or
Ask. You cannot do this by selecting the carrier on the map. Instead, press the
Y button to bring up the game menu. Choose Unit List (the first item) from this
menu. From the list of units that comes up you should be able to choose the unit
you want to resupply and, well, resupply it.
Airdrop Units
-------------
Special Forces, Paratroopers, and LAir capable units of all types can be dropped
from aircraft. Units with a "LAir" attribute can be dropped from a low altitude
while Special Forces and Paratroopers can be dropped from Medium or Low
altitude. No unit can be dropped from High altitude.
Special Forces can be dropped from helicopters and planes however they do use
their turn during the drop (so they can't be dropped and capture/move in the
same turn).
ECM and Jamming
---------------
One weapon in the game deserves special mention. It's the ECM weapon and it's
carried by each of the five Electronic Warfare aircraft in the game. ECM will
cause the detection range of units affected by it to be reduced to 1. In order
to use ECM you choose JAM from your Electronic Warfare craft's menu after
moving.
In order for ECM to affect ground units your aircraft must be flying at low
altitude as ECM's range is only 1 level down. ECM does work 2 levels above the
aircraft however.
Thanks to postrage for pointing out that when a unit is affected by ECM it's
"ECM" light will light up on the unit info sidebar. Just press A on the unit to
see that information.
Note that ECM does NOT affect facilities so ECMing units that are on cities,
refineries, ports, captials and airports has virtually no effect.
EDIT MODE
---------
Dai Senryaku VII allows enterprising map creators to make their own maps. While
you can't place units on the maps you can create any map up to 64x64 hexes in
size. Actually, every map is 64x64 hexes. If you want to restrict yourself to
small land area then surround an island with water and don't put any ports on
the island.
That's getting ahead of myself though...the following terrain types and tools
are available for your use:
Plain, Desert, Wasteland, Wetland, Grove, Forest, Hill, Mountain, Peaks, Lake,
Shallow, Sea, Deep Sea, Snowfield, Snow Grove, Snow Forest, Snowhill, Snow
Mountain, Snow Peaks, Bridge, Capital, City, Factory, Airport, and Refinery
Also, the toolset contains the following: Pen, Line, Rectangle, Fill, Copy,
Road, River and Erase
Controls
--------
In addition the controller's buttons do the following:
White: Opens terrain palette
Black: Opens tool palette
X Button = Picks up terrain in current hilighted hex (eyedropper)
Y Button = Opens chart menu
B Button = Undo
A Button = Take action
R/L Shoulder buttons = Zoom
Start Button = Terrain Editor Menu
The Terrain Editor Menu looks like this
Army Settings
- Players
- Countries
- Funds
- Fuel
- Allies
- Max Turns
- Difficulty
- Map Name
Preview
Toggle Hex Grid
Save
Load
End Editor
Notes for Map Editor
-----
Terrains don't paint "over" roads or rivers so you can lay roads and rivers down
and then change the terrain under them at any time. The exception being sea or
lake terrains which do erase roads in hexes that they are placed.
The Fill tool fills a contiguous block of terrain of the same type.
Copy allows you to copy and paste rectangular selections.
In order for a map to be playable you need at least 2 different colored
capitals.
There isn't much to say about the Edit Mode really. It's pretty much what you'd
expect. You can't place units on these maps as it's strictly a MAP editor (units
are placed when you actually play the map, like any Free Play map).
To PLAY a created map choose "Map Editor" from the main menu then "Play" from
the sub menu. You can then choose a map you've saved in the Map Editor.
===============================================================================
DAI SENRYAKU VII REFERENCE GUIDE (D7REFR)
===============================================================================
D7's MENUS
----------
The Main Menu
-------------
Mission
Free Play
Map Editor
Tutorial
Pass Code
Set Up
Main Menu SET UP
----------------
The following items can be changed from the Main Menu using the Set Up command.
Audio
Sound Mode (stereo/mono)
Music Volume
SE Volume
Sound Test
Video
Gamma Value
Brightness
Contrast
Position
Previous Setting
Mission Mode Menu
-----------------
New Game
Load Game
In Game OPTIONS (FREE PLAY and MISSION MODE)
--------------------------------------------
The following options are available in a battle:
Display
Unit Info (each has on/off option)
-Name
-Sub Units
-Load
-Elevation
-Status
Hex Lines (on/off)
Army Flag (on/off)
Map Effect (on/off)
Map Cursor (current place/back to capital)
Battle Screen (own army/all armies/no display)
System
Com Level (easy/normal/hard)
Battle Anime (on/off)
Select Weapon (for counter attack) (on/off)
Resupply Method (ask/auto/manual)
Vibration (on/off)
Custom Buttons - the "X", Black, and White buttons can
be assigned to any of the following:
End Turn
Save Game
Load Game
Options
Unit List
Terrain List
Movement Chart
Unit Chart
Army Status
Army Facility Chart
Adjust Detection Level
Reset View
Move to Capital
March All
Resupply All
Display Sub-Unit Tag
Sounds
BGM Select
01: First Attacking
02: Battalion
03: Advancing
04: In The Distance
05: On Time Brooking
06: Fire Alarm
07: The Storm In Silence
08: Green Belts
Restore (to previous setting)
UNIT COMMANDS
-------------
Not all units will have all commands.
Move - Allows you to move units, for aircraft/subs it shows height
March - Allows you to give March orders
Load - When you move a loadable unit on top of a transport capable unit
Resp - Resupply, used to supply units with fuel and ammo
Unload - Displays list of loaded units
Info - Displays Unit Info screen
Scan - Shows selected units detection ranges. Useful.
Disband - Unit is removed from battle
Deploy - Deploys or tows artillery, rockets, etc..
Attack - This is what we're here for
Capt - Capture facility
Jam - Units equipped with ECM can choose this command
Equip - Change a unit's package setting
Join - Allows you to merge two of the same types of units
===============================================================================
THE COUNTRIES OF DAI SENRYAKU VII (D7CNTR)
===============================================================================
Here is some data for the countries that are represented in Dai Senryaku VII.
The numbers that you see are for "Pack 1" if there is more than one package for
a unit with the exception of several units which the Packages haven't been
entered into my database yet.
USA Japan Ger Russia France Israel China UK
===============================================================================
Total Unit Cost 139930 63195 38135 91265 58400 37150 41380 62960
Avg Cost/Unit 1866 1090 794 1768 1145 826 844 1369
Unit Count 75 58 48 65 51 45 49 46
Total Firepower 457 302 224 414 239 226 308 268
*For a more detailed breakdown of unit information per country check out Elric's
awesome Tactical Analysis.
Country Army Descriptions (by Jack Power)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following country army descriptions are taken from Jack Power's Excellent
FAQ for Daisenryaku Perfect. They may or may not be accurate representations of
Dai Senryaku VII's units but SystemSoft tends to stick with forumlas once they
find something that works so hopefully these will ring true to the game you are
playing.
Japan
-----------
Japan is a defensive powerhouse. They have a large number of advanced units,
including US imports and their own modified versions of such weapons. They have
an excellent navy, including powerful Aegis destroyers, subs, frigates, and
corvettes for all occasions. However, they lack a true aircraft carrier and land
attack capability, so their ability to project power is limited.
USA
-----------
Hands down, this is the strongest production type in the game. The US armed
forces have units for every conceivable situation, and not only that, they have
the best money can buy. With the exception of a couple of units (like the export
F-35C and a Swedish destroyer), the US has a monopoly on Stealth tech, which is
just plain evil in this game. Their one weakness is that their better units are
extremely expensive.
UK
-----------
The United Kingdom is one of the most well-balanced countries. They literally
have a little bit of everything, and in some cases that little is very good.
Their navy is also well above average, complete with a range of carriers,
destroyers, and subs.
Russia
-----------
Russia has a very large and well-balanced inventory of units, much like the US,
but cheaper and lower quality. In actuality, they have a number of very advanced
systems, making them one of the best production types in the game, and have
excellent long range weapons. "In Soviet Russia, ballistic missiles launch YOU!"
France
-----------
JP's description of France was lacking. He seemed more interested in his opinion
of France as a country than their role in the game, much like this description
is more focused on JP's opinion of France as a country than France's role in
this game, lol.
China
-----------
Don't be fooled by the fact that the majority of Chinese equipment is crap. They
are a dangerous force thanks to all the stuff they bought, copied, or stole from
Russia. While their sea power is nearly nonexistant, they have ballistic
missiles and even nuclear subs.
Germany
-----------
Germany has extremely powerful ground forces, with some of the best tanks and
artillery. They have an interesting mix of ex-Russian gear (MiG-29s), US tech
(MLRS), and European specialties (Typhoon). Unfortunately, their air force and
navy are sub-par at best, and thus their power projection is very limited.
Israel
-----------
This little country kicks some big ass. Israel has excellent tanks, SAMs,
missiles, and fighters for every occasion. The sea is their one weak point, but
it doesn't decrease their overall strength much. Israel's Air Force is one to be
reckoned with. Their planes have more firepower and range and, well, just about
everything than almost any other army. The United States can put a good air
battle with them though.
Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics
Tactical Operations Analysis
-or-
How to most effectively beat the snot out of the enemy
By Elric James Colvill
Welcome all to my tactical analysis of Dai Senryaku VII. The purpose of
this guide is to highlight useful strategies for all eight nations in the
game, and how they relate to each other. This guide seeks to demonstrate
all the strengths and weaknesses of each power and how to best use these to
your advantage. Just to note, I have not included the hidden units in this
section of the analysis - those units will be treated separately. Now,
while it should be remembered that each army can be powerful in its own
right, there are power level and quality differences between all of the
forces in the game, and I will offer my own rating system to roughly boil
down their power, which is based on a ratio of individual unit power to cost
and to unit selection. While some nations might have a low rating, this
only means that the commander must be skillful in implementing them. China
can beat the U.S. given the right circumstances, even though the Chinese are
markedly inferior to the U.S. in military quality. The guide will be
presented by country in alphabetical order, and within each category there
will be a rating (represented by a number of ! marks, from ! to !!!!!,
denoting overall power within each category), brief overview of national
pros and cons, followed by tactical advice and a brief breakdown of each
nation's most influential units.
Remember, these tactical maneuvers will not work all the time, and some will
work better in specific situations while others have more broad uses. The
commander will simply have to determine if the tactics fit the situation. I
may have more tactical plans for some nations more than others, but I will
add more as time goes on. I tend to have more tactical plans for the U.S.,
Russian, and Chinese forces as I use them more.
China
General Power Rating: !!
Ground Units: !!
Air Units: !!
Naval Units: !
Pros: Cheap, cheap, and did I mention cheap? Lowest overall army cost allows
for fast and early development; possess a lower quality but still very useful
pure bomber, the Hong-6.
Cons: Poor MHs (Mobile Howitzers), poor rocket unit (piddly firepower of 2),
poor helicopter force (the Gazelle is their top helicopter - sad, sad, sad), no
transport helicopter, no aircraft carrier, lukewarm assault ship, limited naval
selection, low grade armor units, no mid-air refueling craft, low quality attack
aircraft, no ECM or AEW aircraft.
Analysis: The Chinese suffer from poor unit quality in almost all respects.
Their best units are their higher quality SU-30MMK Multi-Role fighter and
Jian-10 and Jian-11 Flanker fighter, of which the SU-30 and Jian-11 Flanker are
copies of Russian aircraft, automatically making them of higher quality than
older and indigenous Chinese planes. Their other aircraft are of poor quality,
but they have a low powered but still viable pure bomber. They are one of only
three nations in the game to field a pure bomber. It carries a small bomb load,
and possibly one powerful anti-shipping missile. It is the cheapest bomber in
the game as well, and has 23mm self-defense cannons, a common feature of all
Russian style aircraft. Their ground units suffer from similar woes, as their
only truly good unit, the Type 98 MBT, essentially a mock-up of the Russian
T-80, forms the backbone of their ground forces. It is also the cheapest MBT of
its level in the game at 300. They also have three other MBTs, all of which are
of low and even worse quality - the Type 88B and C, and the Type 69 - bar-none
the worst MBT in the game, but it is so cheap (only 120); however, it is rarely
worth even this expenditure except in desperation and financial destitution. It
usually loses to well-armed recon vehicles, let alone other MBTs. Historically,
it was a Chinese version of the proven Russian T-55... circa 1957. It is,
obviously, obsolete.
Despite all of their obvious disadvantages, a wily and intelligent commander
who produces a potent and, above all, numerically strong attack force can
focus on one enemy and wear them down through attrition. We will look at
some tactical strategies a Chinese commander can utilize to achieve victory.
Tactical Plan I - Austerlitz Pincer: The classic Napoleonic maneuver, the
Chinese are perhaps best suited to execute this time-tested tactical maneuver.
This requires a line of 6-8 Type 98 MBTs supported by 4-6 PZL 45 MHs about two
hexes behind, and covered by 2-3 Gazelle attack helicopters, and led by either
one recon vehicle or one recon jet. Since the Chinese lack any MHs capable of
move+attack they must pick out their enemy early and keep an eye on them. The
strategy works best when you outnumber your enemy by at least 50%.
For example, three M1A2 MBTs advance in staggered formation, supported by
two M109A6 Paladins and one M3 Bradley CRV, and your numerically superior
force moves up to attack. The leading three tanks smash head-on into one
M1A2, while the other three to five curve around, creating a closing pincer
around the other two. Move the MHs within four hexes of the enemy tanks
while the Gazelles streak overhead and strike the enemy MHs, weakening their
offensive power. The recon vehicle should be considered a lower priority.
This strategy works best if your attacking tanks can move onto rougher
terrain to attack, because this both increases your % chance to hit, and
lowers theirs. Your lead tanks WILL take losses, and you might lose a
couple, which is why as the Chinese you must ALWAYS send up replacement
units on a regular basis. If you lose too many you will have to retreat and
regroup. But this strategy should limit your casualties, and in all
likelihood you will destroy three pricey MBTs and two MHs, and you can clean
up the Bradley if it sticks around to play.
Tactical Plan II - Backdoor Breakdown: This maneuver requires 1-2 controlled
airports within 20 hexes of the front line, preferably 10-12 hexes, and 2-4
controlled cities. Forces required are 6-8 MBTs, 4-6 MHs, 3 Tank Destroyers,
2-3 supply tankers, 3 attack helicopters, and 2 SU-30MMKs, and possibly one
Hong-6 Badger and one Jian-10 or 11, or two Jian-8 Finbacks. This tactical
position works well in scenarios such as Pinwheel where you can hold a narrow
isthmus with limited forces. The enemy will likely blow into your skirmish line
with MBTs, backed up by MHs and possible attack helicopter support. You should
also consider investing in a couple of PGZ-95 SAM units to deal with these if
you cannot afford the fighter cover, or add them to your force if you can afford
both - the SAMs are cheap. By cycling out damaged tanks you can hold the line
while your bombers and attack helicopters fly overhead and slam the MHs hiding
safely behind their lines, and at the same time your MHs soften up the enemy
front line, followed by a tank pounding. The idea here is to continue to allow
your enemy to run themselves onto your sword while you demolish their rear.
This obviously works best against the computer, but can work to greater or
lesser degrees on human opponents.
Once the enemy is in retreat to lick their wounds, send a recon unit forward
to spy out any incoming reinforcements. Shoot your TDs up and crush any
damaged units in retreat, move up the tank line and make sure you have a
force of 3-4 infantry and 1-2 IFVs/APCs or assault helicopters to capture
the territory they left behind. This strategy will be slow, since you will
need to frequently send air units back for refuel and repair, but if your
helicopters are in good condition, that's what the supply tankers are for,
besides resupplying your MHs. You might also have to continue slipping in
replacement ground units as your line will break without additional forces.
In order to be really effective you must send capture units out to limit the
enemy's production. This style of slow-grind attrition warfare only works
if your enemy is unable to easily replace and resupply his units.
Tactical Plan III - Force Marshed: The Chinese have a unique ability in that
all of their units, right down to their MBTs, can ford rivers relatively easily.
This allows them to operate more efficiently in marshy terrain, and with this in
mind the Chinese can utilize a two-pronged attack force, one that moves in the
direction the enemy suspects, and the other across the normally forbidding
marshes and unbridged rivers. This is a limited tactic that requires specific
terrain conditions, but it can be very, very effective, especially against
armies whose heavy units cannot easily cross such terrain (the Americans,
Germans, and British come to mind, all of whom possess MBTs in excess of 60 tons
each). The "main" force is really a feint; use these units to inflict light
damage, then pull back to draw out the enemy further away from their base of
power. At the same time your "secondary" flanking force steams through the
marsh, led by forward recon and amphibious tank units (blessedly cheap units -
don't feel bad about losing them). Ironically you should avoid capturing
facilities along the way with this force - it can alert the enemy to your path
of approach, so make certain you bring along plenty of supply tankers. You need
to preserve this attack force, so you must carefully map out your path with
recon vehicles or helicopters - jets will not be useful in this force since you
will not be capturing airports along the way.
If you play your cards right and dodge or quickly eliminate any nosy recon
vehicles, this force can bushwhack the enemy - bring along capture units
behind the main attack force, not to capture terrain but to capture the
enemy base and their facilities. Lead up with a tank assault if the base is
lightly defended or an aerial assault if it isn't - you must soften the
ground units with helicopters to make your ground assault the most effective
it can be. Roundhouse with MBTs, uppercut with MHs, sucker-punch with TDs,
and jab with infantry (especially Special Forces). If your feinting force
has done its job, the enemy should have little to no idea of your true
intentions. IT IS IMPORTANT for your feinting force not to cause too much
damage or to destroy too many enemy units - the enemy will withdraw if too
damaged, and replacements will be sitting at the base, maybe for a turn, or
perhaps more. Keep your base well defended with HQ-AA missiles, SAMs,
howitzers, and infantry, as well as tanks. When you're weaker than your
opponent, you really have to use your brains to make up the difference.
France
General Power Rating: !!!
Ground Units: !!!
Air Units: !!!
Naval Units: !!!
Pros: Good primary MBT (Leclerc - pronounced le Claire), good MH (AU-42), good
recon vehicle (AMX-10RC). Best scout helicopter (Horizon Cougar).
Cons: Average to below-average air power, support units with limited to no
self-defense weapons (Roland SAM unit, Gazelle helicopter, Puma assault
helicopter). Units possess poor cost/quality ratio.
Analysis: The Dai Senryaku guide rates the French as the weakest army in the
game, but it depends on how they are used. They can be overwhelmed by greater
numbers (China) or by quality (America), so the key to using the French wisely
is to back them up with captured cities to repair and resupply units, and to
balance their forces with a combination of expensive and cheap units. Most of
their funds should be devoted to Leclerc MBTs and AU-42 MHs, while they can save
money with AMX-10RCs, Gazelle helicopters, and Mirage fighters, and Jaguar
attack jets. If handled correctly, the French can face all comers on equal
ground. Their naval power is even decent, though again like all their units,
not exceptional.
Tactical Plan I - Tuck tail counterattack: This tactic requires 2-3 occupied
cities 8-12 hexes behind the front line, and perhaps an airport. The idea is to
deploy a forward attack force and a secondary attack force around 6-8 hexes
behind the front line, complimented by recon airpower to monitor enemy
movements. In the eventuality that the front line sustains excessive damage,
they can be withdrawn and a fully supplied attack force is waiting in the wings
to replace them, and in 2-3 rounds the damaged force should be back to normal,
or close to it, and then it can be moved to the right or left and combined with
the replacement attack force to create a collapsing wave. One could simply use
all their units at once, but this tactic allows the commander to gauge the power
of the enemy's attack force before committing their full forces, and sometimes a
human opponent could be confused as to exactly how many units you have if you
pull them out and put them back in rapidly. Meanwhile a secondary capture force
should roam the perimeters capturing facilities, and with this method a French
army can press forward quickly and hopefully maintain their numbers for the
eventual press to the capital.
Tactical Plan II - Aerial Task Force Assault: This simple tactic can be applied
to any other ground unit tactics, such as the above maneuver. The idea is to
construct a relatively inexpensive air force capable of a focused and
overwhelming assault. It requires quite a bit of resources (around 15,000), so
it is usually only possible at later stages of the scenario. The idea is to
construct 1 KC-135 Stratotanker, 4 Jaguar attack jets, 2 Mirage F-1 or F-2000
fighters, and 1 Mirage F-1 recon jet, and send it as a support squad for a
primary ground force. The squadron should take position at high altitude,
directed by ground recon forces and the Mirage recon jet, and once the primary
enemy attack force has been identified, the Jaguars should descend to attack the
most threatening enemy units (either MHs or MBTs) while ground units should
destroy any anti-air units if possible, otherwise anti-air units must be
attacked and disabled first. The Jaguars can maintain three consecutive rounds
of bombing, while the Mirage fighters interdict any incoming enemy jets or
attack choppers, and once their attack run is complete the jet squadron links
back up with the KC-135, refuels, and moves off for rearmament. This is a
highly effective tactic in areas where airfields are sparse or non-existent,
especially when fighting the Chinese, who will usually be unable to deploy jets
in such areas due to their lack of mid-air refueling craft. This brief assault
combined with a dedicated ground assault should destroy all but the largest
enemy armies. The next step is to hold the immediate territory and press
forward gradually while the jets rearm and then press on to the enemy's base.
The jet force can then carve a swath right up to the base, followed up by a
transport chopper loaded with infantry or Spec. Ops.
Tactical Plan III - Lurker Assault: I developed this tactic as a desperation
measure in order to conquer a vastly more powerful enemy. The situation in
brief was this: The battle was largely naval, and the computer enemies, two of
them, were on Hard difficulty, which is my default setting. As the French I was
in the weakest starting position, with one large island close by but no other
easily reachable territories, which both of my enemies, Russia and America, did.
In fact, the Americans if they deployed rapidly could achieve control over one
entire half of the battle map, which they did. The Russians were masters of the
Northwestern portion of the map, and they came into conflict often with the
Americans. While this was going on I focused more on building a powerful naval
force, composed of one Foudre assault ship (loaded with Leclerc MBTs, an AU-42
SPH, an AMX-10RC recon car and a Horizon transport chopper loaded with two
squads of Special Forces), two Georges Leygues frigates, a supply ship, and a
Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier (loaded with two squads of Rafale M fighters,
and two squads of Super Etendards loaded with Exocet ASMs, and one squad of ASW
choppers). I deployed this force to counter the American advance while capture
forces headed north to take control of a small sandbar island between the
Russian base and my own. This was the only distant territory I could capture
early on.
The battle against the Americans did not go well. Just as I deployed
advance forces onto a resource rich island, I found an American
expeditionary force already set up there. My forces simply could not hold
out against the 3 M1A2s, M109A6 Paladin, 2 LAV-Ads, and three squads of
Infantry, plus air support from UH-60 Black Hawks and eventually Apache
helicopters. My Foudre escaped with heavy damage, one squad of tanks, and
its frigate escort, also heavily damaged. Meanwhile during this ground
assault my carrier and other frigate, plus an overhead ASW plane were
hunting down an American Zumwalt destroyer. My goal was to inflict
attrition damage, crippling the Americans' sea fleet. I eventually
succeeded in destroying the Zumwalt, plus three San Antonio assault ships,
one transport ship (all fully loaded), plus around 10 squads of attack and
assault helicopters. In all I lost one squad of Super Etendards, my ASW
plane and choppers, my transport chopper with infantry, most of my ground
assault force, and thus I was forced to turn back in defeat. But whereas I
lost $5,620 in units, I inflicted $30,000 of damage. But it wasn't enough.
American productivity was simply too high, and my own too low. I could not
advance and capture more territory, the Russians were producing attack
helicopters like they were going out of style, and they were trying like
hell to take my little sandbar island from me.
There was only one thing I could do: Conquer the Americans. But how?
Here's the come from behind plan I developed, and it all centered on the
humble Horizon Cougar "attack" helicopter. I use attack lightly because the
only weapon the Horizon Cougar mounts is a pathetic machine gun, and with
only 3 shots. But its main use is as a scout chopper. With a low air
search radius of 5, and 7 to the ground and sea surface, it has better
scouting ability than any other aircraft in the game. Following this was
three Horizon transport choppers loaded with cheap infantry, and further
followed by a Mirage F-1 and a pair of Rafale D fighters rearmed as attack
jets, in formation centered on a KC-135 Stratotanker. The choppers edged
the bottom of the map, following three hexes behind the scout, and the jets
ascended to high altitude, flying over the map. I left the Americans alone
and harassed the Russians instead, slowly bashing away their air cover as I
redirected my repaired and resupplied naval force.
The end for America came as I moved my chopper force into position, six
hexes away from the capital. I could clearly spot all of their forces as
they built up and waited for my time. The jets were flying in, but didn't
even arrive for the battle before my chance came. The Americans had
produced an F-22 Raptor (eeek!) and a large ground force, which they loaded
aboard a transport, but they made a fatal mistake: they left their capital
unguarded. I flew in my transport choppers immediately and BOOM, all their
base belong to us. I went from 19 facilities to 58, and my production base
multiplied by three. The Russians were doomed; it was only a matter of
time. With my new productivity I constructed a Cassard destroyer and a
fleet of Jaguar attack jets, accompanied by a Stratotanker to assault the
Russian base. All it took from there was wearing down the enemy and
preventing them from taking my new territories with cheap Hip assault
choppers. My infantry squads, choppers, and older air squad took care of
that. I went from possibly losing the scenario to getting an A +. All
thanks to the Horizon Cougar attack chopper and a small number of transport
choppers. Just remember, it's never too late to sucker punch your enemy,
and with a selection of fairly cheap attack jets and choppers, the French
have just the right combination of units to do it.
Germany
General Power Rating: !!!
Ground Units: !!!!!
Air Units: !!
Naval Units: !!
Pros: The game's most powerful MBT (Leopard 2A6), and most powerful MH (PZH
2000), best Tank Destroyer (Jaguar). All German ground units can be described
as capable to good, with no real losers.
Cons: Poor air power, poor naval power, expensive units.
Analysis: German ground power is unmatched, but this alone will not win them
the battle. They lack a powerful air force and their naval power is sorely
lacking, which puts them at a great disadvantage against more balanced foes.
But by balancing what is good about their air power with their obvious ground
advantages, they can form a powerful army. Their Tiger Helicopter is fairly
good, but its only gun is a weak machine gun, incapable of causing great damage,
and they have an unlockable PAH-BO attack helicopter, a better version of their
older model, which is much like the French Gazelle, but it is armed with a 20mm
cannon, and at only $50 more than the Gazelle, it's a good deal.
Since most German jets suffer from a lack of range, the commander should
consider a mid-air refueling jet to keep them up longer. The Euro Fighter
2000 is a good fighter, comparable to America's better fighters, and should
be used whenever the Germans need fighter cover. Their tactics are often
limited as well, due to overspecialization, and the Germans are best used by
commanders who like simple tactics relying more on brute force than trickery
or deception.
Tactical Plan I - Hammer Swing: This tactic is the most basic and most broadly
usable one of all. Take around 4-6 Leopard 2A6 tanks (or more if you can manage
it - the more the merrier, especially with Leopards), and an equal number of PZH
2000 MHs, 2 recon units, and 3-4 attack helicopters (with missiles) and send
them out in a squared formation, backed up with 2 supply tankers and 2-3
infantry squads or IFV/APCs, and 2 Gepard AA units. Simply send the recon
vehicles out around five hexes in front of your attack force, identify the enemy
front line, roll up the MHs and slam their forward line, weakening it, and then
plow forward with the Leopards to cause even more damaged. By this time if they
have any MH units of their own, send the helicopters overhead to deal them a
blow. This should immediately weaken or destroy the advance force with little
to no damage to your own forces. The enemy will either pull up reinforcements
or withdraw its forces, and the infantry/IFVs can move up and capture this new
territory. Chase the retreating units for maybe one round with the helicopters
and see if you can't knock out a few more. Don't let your choppers get to far
away from your forces; otherwise they can be overwhelmed by AA units or enemy
air power. Pull them back, rearm and refuel, and press on.
If you can get a hold of a Tornado recon unit, this will greatly help your
recon efforts, but bring along a tanker jet. Tornado IDS attack jets can
also be useful with tanker assistance, but remember - don't spend too much
of your resources on air power, you'll never rule the air, not even against
the Chinese.
Tactical Plan II - Sickle Blade Assault: This tactic is best used on larger
maps where multiple forces can be deployed into different sectors, and one is
fighting multiple enemies. While you might like to produce nothing but Leopard
2A6 MBTs, your resources will run low, especially if fighting multiple enemies
simultaneously. The idea here is to have a primary attack force made of your
best units while a secondary force, made of older Leopard 2s and either 1 or 2
PZH 2000s if you can afford them, or omit them if you can't. Bring along 2-3
Jaguar TDs since you are likely to encounter enemy capture and recon units away
from the main battle and the Jaguars carry 10 TOW missiles, giving them great
battle endurance against lighter vehicles, or crippled heavy ones. Drag along 2
Roland or Gepard SAM units for AA defense, 2-3 recon vehicles (tracked or
wheeled depending on the terrain) and 2 squads of infantry in transport trucks,
or 2 IFVs, supported by 1-2 transport helicopters loaded with infantry or Spec
Ops and 2 cheaper attack helicopters. This will give you a fast moving, rapidly
deploying attack force capable of destroying enemy capture task forces, or even
flanking a smaller enemy heavy assault task force. The time will come when your
main force breaks the enemy lines and your two forces will link up. Your
secondary army can swing up like a sickle blade and cut a swath into the enemy's
soft side while the power of your primary force bashes forward. If executed
properly, this tactic can destroy the enemy's forces while limiting or
eliminating their productive base. The great advantage of this is that you can
maintain a numerical parity with larger and cheaper forces while maintaining a
balance of quality - even their cheapest tank, the basic Leopard 2, is the match
of American and British main line MBTs, and better than any Chinese or Russian
models.
Israel
General Power Rating: !!
Ground Units: !!!
Air Units: !!!
Naval Units: !
Pros: Awesome tank array, good AA units, top-line attack and assault choppers,
good overall jet power. Best tank for the price (Merkava Mk. 3 - $400).
Cons: Worst MHs in the game, worst naval units in the game, worst recon/APC
units in the game. Best tank is quite expensive (Merkava Mk. 4 - $500).
Analysis: The Israelis aren't quite a one-trick pony, but they're close. The
whole of the Israeli's military might rests upon the well-sloped armored backs
of the Merkava Mk. 3 and 4. All of their other units serve to support these
excellent MBTs, but unfortunately, as they say in basketball, the bench isn't
very deep. Their naval power stinks, their recon units are flimsy and so poorly
armed that they might as well not even have guns, and their mobile howitzers...
well, to put it bluntly, they suck more furiously than a desperate junkie crack
whore out for her next fix. And she uses her teeth. The M109s have no
move+attack ability, they only have a range of 4, and their accuracy is
terrible. And worse still, they're the only MHs available to the Israeli
military in this game. Armor and infantry need artillery support, and the M109
simply cannot deliver well. Thus the Israelis must rely more on their excellent
American-made AH-64 Peten attack choppers (the Israeli version of the Apache),
and their assault heli, the Yusuf, which is the American UH-60 Black Hawk.
These units mount the powerful AGM-114 Anti-tank missile, which is the only such
missile in the game mounted on choppers that has 1) firepower 4, and 2) a range
of 2, allowing them to hit most targets without allowing them to counterattack.
In order to be effective the tanks must be protected from air and artillery,
which requires thick air defense. A successful Israeli attack force will
usually have a 2:1 Tank/Chopper ratio. This can be quite expensive, considering
the Merkava Mk. 4 and 3 cost 500 and 400 respectively, while the Peten is 700.
They have two other dedicated attack chopper, such as a version of the Cobra,
and the Lahatut 5000, which only carries 2 Tow missiles, but it's better than
nothing. Go with the Petens. Although, in situations where you have jets
defending your forces from enemy air units, you can save money by producing
UH-60s, since they're only 300 each and mount 3 powerful AGM-114 missiles, and
they have the capture ability. They're better than the Lahatut's, and cheaper
too.
Tactical Plan I - Rolling Thunder: Much like with the Germans, Israeli tactics
are about overwhelming power, but the Israelis are less effective at carrying
out this style of combat than the Germans. But the Israelis have a natural
advantage - excellent airpower. The rating may not show it, but Israeli air
forces are not to be taken lightly. They only received a rating of (!!!)
because their numerical selection is low, and their attack aircraft are rather
poor, except for the F-15 Raam multi-role fighter, and they have no heavy
transport aircraft. But they have three good fighters, two great choppers and
one more good one, and the Karnaf mide-air refueler, giving longevity to their
high-fliers. The best idea is to assemble a force of around 6 choppers and 12
tanks, backed up by 2-3 APCs, 3 squads of infantry, and 3-4 SAM units to provide
cover for the tanks' rear, and haul along 2-3 supply tankers to support the
choppers. The choppers are so useful since they can be refueled and by cities,
airports, and tankers, and can repair at cities and airports, making them more
versatile than jets, especially where airports are scarce. Once this force is
in formation, roll them out, led by a recon jet - you can use recon cars, but
their mobility is lessened by rough terrain since both units are wheeled - and
covered by air.
Task 1 - identify the enemy front line. Task 2 - move in Peten and Black
Hawk choppers to unleash missiles. Task 3 - move in one line of tanks and
strike hard. Task 4 - if the enemy line wavers, continue to push with tanks
to break it. Continue to use choppers to harass rearguard units like MHs
and rocket trucks, and make certain to destroy all SAM and AA gun units, so
your choppers remain healthy. Enemy jets and attack choppers can be
dangerous, so as soon as possible, deploy long-range interceptors (F-4
Kuranass and F-15 Baz jets will do nicely, as will F-16 Barak's if there is
an airport within 20 hexes) to deal with these threats so your choppers can
focus on ground attack. Task 5 - purchase a Karnaf supply plane to keep the
fighters in the air. Deploy transport choppers with Special Forces behind
enemy lines to divide enemy forces. Do not hold captured territory, just
hit and move on, it keeps their forces divided, especially when fighting
multiple opponents.
The weakness of this force is a lack of MHs. You may choose to purchase
some, but they are more likely to become casualties than cause them. Use
them more for close base defense against assault choppers sent by the enemy
when they land on your cities. Your main force is perhaps better off
without them. They slow your offense since they must stop, wait a turn, and
then fire, and that's only if the enemy hasn't destroyed them before then.
Despite this weakness this strategy usually proves effective, but if the
advance is too slow the enemy will dispatch fighters to take down your
choppers, so keep them supplied or replace them when they are lost. It is a
good idea to maintain around 4 interceptors with the Karnaf supply plane.
By not producing M109s you have more freedom to produce air units, you just
need more money. As the fight progresses send up another 4-6 tanks with 2
SAM units to strengthen the rear of your advance force.
Japan
General Power Rating: !!!
Ground Units: !!!
Air Units: !!!
Naval Units: !!!!
Pros: Potent destroyer selection, decent and cheap submarine, good modern air
units, top-quality MBT and MH, good helicopters.
Cons: Units tend to be expensive; possess only one SAM unit, the Type 93 SAM
truck, a flimsy and limited AA unit; poor assault ship, and they lack carriers
and heavy warships.
Analysis: Historically the Japanese of the post WWII era are a purely defensive
force, but their units are very modern by western standards, and clearly
superior to all other forces in the east. Their air power is comparable to the
Russian's, their basic land units are equal with the American's - but they are a
bit more expensive. Their true benefit comes from a selection of three very
modern destroyer units -the Hatakaze is a cheaper but effective model, and the
Kongo is their top line model. But they do not possess heavy warships such as
cruisers, nor do they possess aircraft carriers - provisos of the post-war
constitution imposed upon Japan by America. Historically since that time the
Japanese have been close naval partners of America and they have benefited from
American naval ingenuity, becoming near equal partners in light ship warfare.
The Japanese thrive in sea-going scenarios because of this natural advantage,
but can still hold their own in ground combat.
While strong at sea, they have limited naval weapons since they do not
possess carriers, cruisers, or armed assault vessels. Against an enemy
fielding a fully-loaded carrier and/or cruiser supported by assault ship,
the Japanese are at a disadvantage. They must manage their territorial
holdings wisely in order to support units in the field.
Tactical Plan I - Island Hopping Offensive: This tactic is a long-ranging one,
beginning simply with inexpensive capture units and progressing up to more
expensive assault units. And obviously given the title this is a naval tactic,
requiring lots of open water. First, once you have identified the best
strategic positions, assemble two Chinook helicopters loaded with two squads of
basic infantry each (save your money for later - Spec Ops are too expensive
right now). Send these two units out to two different but fairly close islands,
or one larger one with numerous facilities and immediately grab them. While
this is going on assemble a ground assault force and an assault ship, along with
one Cobra attack helicopter, and two UH-1J assault choppers. Send the assault
choppers out to capture facilities away from the island you are focusing your
main efforts on, and deploy the Cobra chopper out to cover your newly acquired
facilities.
The second phase is to return the Chinooks to your base and pick up 2 squads
of Hawk SAM units, and deploy them with your infantry on the newly captured
islands. While this is going on load the assault ship with a strike force
of two Type 90 MBTs, one MH unit, and one Type 87 CRV recon squad with
another Cobra squad. Send these to your captured islands and deploy them
for defense. Return the assault ship to load up a supply tanker, IFV, and a
SAM truck or AA gun squad and deploy these with your defense force. If
you're lucky enough to have an airfield on this captured island, you don't
have to return your assault ship to your base - just produce a cargo plane
and load these lighter units on it one at a time and ferry them over in the
next few turns. The island should be well defended by now, perhaps even
better than your home base, but this early in the battle your base should
not be threatened - of course, don't leave your base naked while this is
going on.
These captured facilities will increase your productivity, especially if you
continue to capture units with your assault choppers, and hop around with
your Chinooks and infantry squads to capture other facilities. Don't worry
about defending every captured island - you don't have the units to do this.
Just continue to capture and recapture facilities to harass your enemies.
The best areas to defend are areas where facilities are clustered together,
especially where factories are concerned. You want to defend any factories
you capture since these will provide you with the resources needed in the
end game.
The final stage of this plan is to pick an enemy and focus on them. Produce
two Hatakaze destroyers, and up to one added Kongo destroyer if you can
afford them, and a transport vessel loaded with tanks, MHs, supply tankers,
and IFVs, and assemble your old defense force on your island, load them on
to your assault ship, and move out in naval task force formation. Hopefully
you've had the opportunity to capture airports along the way, but if not you
will need a mid-air refueler with 2-3 F-2 multi-role fighters, and perhaps
an Orion anti-shipping plane, but only if you fear the enemy still has
destroyers or cruisers. These, along with 2-3 attack choppers you've
produced up to this point, will serve as a forward assault force. The
airpower will sweep in, weaken the enemy land units (don't focus all your
attention on one or two units, unless they have powerful land units like
Leopard 2A6s or Merkava Mk. 4s), slide the assault ship up away from the
enemy base and clean up the enemy units. Try with your air power to clear
the enemy away from a nearby port so the transport ship can land and deploy
its load. Move up your destroyers to clear away any air units or close by
land units, and the way should be clear. If done properly, you will have
landed half a dozen MBTs, 3 MHs, a few squads of IFVs, AA vehicles, and
support tankers. This assault can be further assisted by your two Chinooks
loaded down with the roving infantry. During this organized assault your
territorial holdings will be vulnerable to a third or fourth enemy, but you
can take the hit for now, because if you can conquer one enemy, you gain all
their territories, and can then regroup your forces for another attack.
Russia
General Power Rating: !!!!
Ground Units: !!!
Air Units: !!!!
Naval Units: !!!!
Pros: Good SPAAG/SPSAM units, good air power, excellent naval units, good
variety of units, excellent and tough IFVs.
Cons: Low-grade MBTs, below average SPHs, below average SP rocket units.
Analysis: The Russians are one of the most powerful armies in the game, despite
a lack of truly modern MBTs and SPHs. They have a mixed bag of quality and
quantity units, and few of their units are terribly expensive - the worst being,
of course, naval units. Also the Russians possess an excellent variety of
weapons, allowing for multiple tactical combinations in different situations.
To be successful with the Russians, a commander must focus on the Russians'
natural strengths to bolster their shortcomings. In this case, where their MBTs
and SPHs are lacking, this deficit can be made up by combining attack helicopter
cover and anti-air units to create a balance of offense and defense. Due to
their power distribution their tactics can often mirror those of the Americans,
but the quality of their weapons is typically lower, such as with the Mi-24 Hind
helicopters' relatively inaccurate Shturm missiles, and even the Ataka missiles
used by the more advanced K-50 and K-52 helicopters are less accurate than their
American competitors. But this usually does not present a significant problem
for the Russians, because much like with the Chinese the Russians can usually
recover faster from attrition. The thing to remember is the Russians have very
good airpower, and a cheap but effective attack chopper (the Mi-24 Hind), which
can be produced in such numbers (provided you have multiple production capable
airports) that they can rival enemy tanks in quantity. This should be used to
bolster their relatively weak ground power.
Tactical Plan I - Red Doom: This attack plan requires a large number of attack
choppers, usually one for every two MBTs you have in your main force. The ideal
attack army is this: 10 T-80 MBTs, 5-6 219-MSTA SPHs, 4 Tunguska SPAAGs, 2
BMP-3 of BTR-T IFVs (your preference), 3 infantry squads, 3 supply trucks, 2
Smerch SPRLs (Self Propelled Rocket Launcher), and no less than 6 attack
choppers (2 K-52 Alligators and 4 Hind or Black Sharks depending on your funds),
plus 1-2 multi-role jets and if you have the money buy a bomber. Organize this
force into a skirmish line, the T-80s in a line with the Tunguskas backing them
up, and the Smerch and MSTAs behind them, with the infantry and supply trucks
further behind for support. The choppers should fly overhead to scout and
interdict any enemy scouts. Expect damage to be done to your choppers, and pull
them back when you can to keep them repaired and supplied. This moving bulwark
has the ability to counter multiple enemies converging on a central location,
and is best used on small maps where there is a definite goal for all forces
(such as the scenario Survival Basin, where this plan was first used).
The process here is to identify one enemy and with the choppers and attack
jets and hit them hard, while at the same time destroying your enemy's
infantry, IFVs/APCs/Assault choppers, and recon units. The SPAAGs are vital
to defending your ground forces from enemy air attack, because these units
present your primary power base and it must be maintained in order to be
effective.
An example: In the scenario "Survival Basin" there are three forces that
meet in the middle to do battle - the Russians, the French, and the Germans.
The battle is meant to be a bloody fustercluck in the middle, with the
strongest winning out. With this plan I was able to use a weaker ground
force to conquer two stronger ground forces with the aid of superior air
power. The Germans were the biggest threat with vastly superior tanks and
SPHs, and my air power was dedicated to destroying these powerful units. At
the same time flanking forces were moving on both the Germans and the
French, to capture their facilities and exploit their force deployment to
counter the forces in the middle of the map. The time came when my rolling
barrage of air - artillery - tank power pushed both of the enemies out of
the basin and I split my force in half to push both armies up into their
base area. The French could not hold out against the rolling assault as
they rapidly lost their Leclerc tanks and AU-42 SPHs, which were the
backbone of their army. Once they were conquered all forces could surround
the German base and with dedicated jet bombing, attack chopper missile fire,
followed by artillery spread the powerful German tanks and SPHs were cleared
away, their funds depleted, and their weaker units were destroyed by T-80
(and even a small number of my humble T-72s) fire, allowing a BTR-T to ride
into their base and then on the next round it was game over. A+.
On larger maps where forces must be divided up, this plan will not work, but
try it in situations like "Survival Basin" where there is a definitive point
of mutual strategic interest for multiple forces on the map. And the map
must be small - you are dedicating 40 units to one attack plan, so plan
wisely. If you fear this would require too many resources or spread you too
thin, don't attempt it, or create a smaller force based on the same model.
Tactical Plan II - High-Speed Assault: The Russians possess an unlockable unit
of great ability - the Lun transport. The Lun is a strange looking bird; it's a
ship that looks like it should be flying, and is based on hydrofoil technology.
It cannot carry a great deal, mounting up 1 heavy unit and 2 ver units, and has
limited fuel capacity (110), but mounts a useful Harpoon-like missile system for
anti-shipping use, the Kh-35 Moskit, and is the fastest damn thing in the water
(move 9, high speed 11). Each one is $4,500, making it very expensive, but if
you have the funds to purchase 2 of these, especially early in the game, you can
unleash a potent fast-attack force upon an enemy base.
Ideally your attack force will be composed of 2 Luns, with total loads of 2
T-80s, 2 Sprut-235 TDs, 1 BMD-3 recon vehicle, and 1 BMP-3 IFV, supported by
a K-52 Alligator attack chopper and a Mi-26 Halo transport helicopter loaded
with two infantry squads. The enemy base will have to be fairly close by
and have ports or shallows within ground unit range of your deployed ground
units. You must be able to secure the base within 1 round, 2 at the most in
order to succeed; otherwise the enemy will buy enough base defense units to
counter you. If executed well, this force can scout out the enemy
deployment (Alligator's job), follow up with tanks against "harder" units,
TDs against "softer" units, and your recon vehicle and IFV to act as
clean-up units. If you can clear off the base defense, unload your Halo
chopper within two hexes of the base and simply march an infantry squad onto
it and your enemy is defeated. This strategy works best early in the game,
when the enemy is still actively deploying forces - it's actually best in a
large naval scenario since the enemy will likely be spreading units out in a
wide pattern. This deployment strategy can also be useful as a flanking
tactic where the enemy's forces are battling your main army. Keep these
units concealed, because your Luns are very vulnerable - but they have a
stealth factor of 12, aiding this somewhat. A squad of tanks and a couple
of TDs are unlikely to crush your enemy, but they can offer just the opening
you need. The Lun can also be used to load up three trucks loaded with
infantry or BMP-3 IFVs, allowing you to deploy fast moving ground capture
units behind enemy lines. Protect your Luns at all cost though - they are
very expensive, and lack the endurance of their naval kin (they only have a
12).
The Lun is also useful for fast deploying advance capture units onto islands
in scenarios with a great deal of water. The Lun can go back and forth
dropping off small groups of units faster than one transport or Ivan Rogov
assault ship can drop off one. This can be vital especially if you have
identified an island with oil refineries or factories and you want to secure
it right away - move in infantry to entrench, follow up with an AA missile
unit and tank, and you can hold the island against all but the most
dedicated of attacks. Deploy a cheap Kilo submarine to patrol the island
and deter landings and you can hold it perhaps for the entire game.
United Kingdom
General Power Rating: !!! _
Ground Units: !!! _
Air Units: !!!
Naval Units: !!! _
Pros: Top of the line MBT (Challenger 2), SPH (AS90 Bravheart), over all decent
ground and naval units. Good attack chopper (American made Apache chopper).
Cons: Limited unit selection - below average IFVs/APCs, lower quality jet
units.
Analysis: The French have been rated as the weakest army in the game, but in my
mind despite slightly superior units the Brits are not nearly as powerful as
they are on paper, and in my use have usually proved less useful than the
French. While possessing thoroughly modern tanks, SPHs, helicopters, and naval
vessels, the poor unit selection makes the UK forces weak in many ways. Having
a larger number of units with varying levels of tactical usefulness makes a
force stronger, but the British usually have only one or two choices for their
units - they have two tanks, one SPH, one SPSAM, two recon vehicles, a small
selection of IFV/APCs, and a small air force. This of course does not make them
useless - as history has shown the British are more than capable warriors,
despite their vanilla-chocolate-strawberry unit selection. All that is needed
is a balanced deployment of their conventional units, and their performance can
mirror that of the Americans since they are nearly equal in power and design to
most of the American arsenal, at least on the ground and at sea. The American
air power simply cannot be matched by any other nation in the game.
Tactical Plan I - Rolling Barrage: Much like with the Israelis and the
Americans, the British can deploy the potent Apache chopper with its AGM-114
missiles and with a combined Challenger 2 and Braveheart force a British force
can deploy in formation using the helicopters to fly over the enemy formations
to hit their AA and SPH units, the Bravehearts can slam forward tank units, and
then the Challengers can roll up and hammer away at the weakened ground units,
followed by lighter AFVs like the Warrior. This is a very standard tactic, and
the British are better at executing it than the Israelis due to superior SPH
units, and nearly equal MBTs. This is an all-purpose maneuver useful in any
ground attack situation.
Tactical Plan II - Harrier Harassment: The British and the Americans possess
the only VTOL air units in the game and can use these in situations where you
need something a little more potent than attack choppers. Harriers are only
$1,250 each and can be reconfigured into anti-air, anti-ground, and
anti-shipping roles, and with the aid of a nearby friendly city (maybe an
airport if you're lucky) and a simple supply truck you can create a raider
squadron of 3-4 Harriers. This is a modular unit that can be combined with any
landing force, ground force, or even a small carrier, and sent to harass enemy
air or ground units equally. When combined with the above strategy the British
can create a highly mobile rolling assault force. The only disadvantage is that
this build-up of material is slow unless you have 2 or more production capable
airports. The applications of such a modular are obvious and simple: against
enemy ground units you have a couple of guided bombs, against ships you have
ASMs, and against air units you can equip AAMs. Harriers are best though as
attack fighters rather than as air fighters - they aren't as agile or evasive as
dedicated fighters and typically lose out to them in head on fights.
United States of America
General Power Rating: !!!!!
Ground Units: !!!!!
Air Units: !!!!!
Naval Units: !!!!!
Pros: Top line MBT and SPH, powerful exclusively American units (ATACMS, A-10s,
stealth fighters/bombers, large aircraft carriers, AEGIS equipped naval vessels,
high-speed aerial transport unit, long-range missile systems in all areas), good
recon and AA units, one of only two VTOL equipped and one of three bomber
equipped forces in the game. Best air and naval power bar-none. Large force
selection allows for large tactical variety.
Cons: Most freakin' expensive military in the game - requires a large deal of
external resources to maintain at peak efficiency. While MBTs and SPHs are
good, they are not exceptional - equal to British, French, and Japanese
selection, superior to Chinese and Russians, but inferior to German and Israeli
tanks (this can't be said for Israeli SPHs though, which are the WORST in the
game). They have no other real weaknesses.
Analysis: The Americans are the best army in the game technologically, but this
does not make them undefeatable. In order to succeed with the Americans you
must be very smart - it's easy to become obsessed with American toys and lose
sight of the tactical objectives. The thing to remember about the Americans is
that they are nearly the opposite of the British in many ways - they have so
many different units it's hard to choose what you need. Developing a concept
ahead of time will aid in your tactics. The Americans can deploy the most
expensive army in the game, but they can also go on the cheap, it all depends.
Tactical Plan I - Shock and Awe: This plan requires an amount of resources that
boggles the mind, but its power is simply amazing. It requires planning and a
strong defense in order to protect your investment. Here is what you will need:
- 4 ATACMs launchers
- 3 B-1 Lancer bombers (AGM configuration)
- 2 FB-22s
- 3 Patriot missile units
- 2 LAV-AD units
- 2 F/A-18 recon fighters
- 1 KC-135 Stratotanker
1-3 controlled cities + 1-2 supply trucks
(nearby airports are helpful, but not necessary)
Total units: 18-19
Total cost: $34,150 (plus maintenance costs).
(You can compose a "Shock and Awe - on the cheap" version of this by
eliminating the FB-22s, replacing them with cheaper F-16s for local air
defense, replace the Patriots with less sophisticated Hawks, have only 3
ATACMs instead of 4, and one less B-1 Lancer and the units can be reduced
down to 16-17, and cost becomes $22,500).
In this case, rough terrain like hills and low mountains is preferred, since
this will allow you to entrench your ATACMs and Patriot launchers. The idea
is to gather your launchers in a circular pattern (hopefully a few can sit
on controlled cities), with your LAV-AD units on the perimeter, and your air
units maintain position above your ground units. This creates a missile
cell; a launching point for a volume of military power that can make your
enemies wet themselves. The recon jets circle out to around 16 hexes away
at high altitude, keeping an eye out for both ground forces and incoming
enemy air power, and acting as FOs (Forward Observers) for your missile
cell. With this combination (possibly supported by a couple of MLRS-270
units if you feel like spending even more money) you can launch missile
strikes from your bombers, attack jets, and ATACM launchers. The ATACMS
should hit first since they have the Mega attack ability, followed up by
long range missile fire from your air units.
I have used this situation before to break a German and Israeli ground
assault, simultaneously, by mounting my efforts in the surrounding mountains
and hills. With one central city, two more 8 hexes away along with an
airport 12 hexes distant, I mounted my missile cell and set about to
eliminating the enemy units. Within 15 rounds my missile cell had destroyed
16 Leopard 2A6 tanks, 12 PzH 2000 SPHs, 18 Merkava Mk. 4 tanks, 12 M109
SPHs, and two dozen assorted IFVs/APCs/Infantry squads, along with no fewer
than 8 squadrons of interceptors, fighters, and attack jets, and 16
helicopter squads - consuming a combined $56,800 of enemy resources. This
was combined with a potent if numerically weak ground assault team and close
air support platoon, which allowed me to slip it in to first the close-by
Israeli base - now reduced to a handful of tanks and other vehicles - and
then into the German territory as I slowly rolled my missile cell forward
around another 12 hexes. Earlier on I conquered the French by less
expensive methods, which gave me the resources to apply this tactic. S
rating, with total forces produced of 53, lost 6 with 760 lost sub-units
compared to a total of 3,180 lost enemy sub-units. Now THAT is shock and
awe. The big disadvantage is that this will most likely be a later stage
strategy, and will require time to amass the proper forces.
Tactical Plan II - Operation Zeus: This tactic operates on the same principal
as certain Israeli, Russian, and British methods, but the Americans are best at
executing it. It requires the following units to a greater or lesser degree
(this is based on one large attack group - halve these numbers where appropriate
for less demanding assaults):
- 6 M1A2s
- 3-4 M109A6 Paladins
- 2 MLRS-270s
- 2 M3 Bradley CFVs
- 2 LAV-Ads
- 2 M2 Bradley IFVs
- 4 AH-64 Apache choppers
- 2 A-10 Thunderbolt attack jets
- 1-2 F-16s or F-15s for fighter cover
- 2-3 supply trucks
- 2-3 Infantry squads
Total units: 27-30
Total cost: $17,700 +/-
The idea is to closely support your ground contingent with air cover,
identify with recon vehicles where the enemy is, and send the air power in
ahead of the ground forces to weaken and destroy 1) SAMs, 2) Artillery, 3)
Enemy air power, and 4) MBTs, then move in your own artillery and attack 1)
MBTs, then 2) light vehicles. Then your own MBTs can rumble in and thrash
the left-overs, break the line, and move your own IFVs and infantry in to
take over ownership of any nearby facilities. Resupply, regroup, and move
forward. Simple, but effective. If you lack the funds, nix the MLRS units,
that will save you $1,200 right there, but keep them if you can - they can
be deadly at C class and higher. A half-strength version of this force,
minus the MLRSs since you want as fast a moving force as possible, can be
combined with Shock and Awe for a powerful advance force.
Tactical Plan III - Operation Hermes: In this plan the Americans use their
superior transportation abilities to land sneak forces behind enemy lines. It
requires a certain amount of resources and either a nearby HQ, or a safe point
of pick-up - I'll define this later, after I tell you what you need:
- A defensible city cluster, with airport, preferably located near rough
terrain.
- 2 Chinook or Osprey transport choppers
- 5-7 Infantry or Spec. Ops. Forces
- 2 Hawk missile batteries
- 1 Hercules cargo plane
- 1 M3 Bradley CFV
- 2 Transport trucks
- 1 or 2 Supply trucks
- 1 Globemaster 3 transport plane
- 2 M1A2 Abrams tanks
- 1 M109A6 Paladin
Total units: 17-19
Total cost: $7,100 (on the cheap) - $8,800 (top shelf)
I have employed this strategy when I have identified a clearly defensible
position with the aforementioned city/airport cluster, at the flank position
of one of my enemies. This strategy really only works if you can achieve
surprise and can come from a direction your enemy is unlikely to go. Enemy
capture units will come at some point, so have your Hawks set up and your
infantry spread out until your heavier ground units have arrived. You'll
need to make at least three round trips in all. If you believe your forces
are proving successful, continue to leak a couple more tanks or SPHs over
that way, but do not over invest in this force - your main force will be
necessary to maintain pressure on the enemy. When you can spare them, send
1 or 2 Apaches to provide air cover. Send this army streaming towards the
enemy's ranks when you feel you have drawn enough forces away from their
base (use recon jets to find this out), and deploy your ground units with
choppers and Bradley leading, tanks following, SPH behind them a couple of
hexes, and the supply trucks and mechanized infantry behind them, with the
transport choppers loaded with all but one of your remaining infantry
following along a few hexes back from the main line. Hopefully you can
execute your attack when only 3-4 forces are sitting at the enemy base.
Slam down with the Apaches, follow with your Paladin, break final opposition
with the Abrams tanks, clean up with the Bradley, and land and capture the
capital with any of your truck or chopper-borne infantry. If you require
additional rounds to capture the base, don't take too long, but surround the
base with as many infantry as you can, take-over any production capable
facilities and wait till next round to finish them off. If done well, your
enemy won't know where this army came from.
Additional general notes
1: Always buy your best equipment when possible. You might like the idea of a
huge but cheap force, but remember - you get what you pay for.
2: Remember that your transport choppers can carry one Infantry squad, and even
one Light unit. This is useful to any nation that uses the American made Hawk
AAM artillery unit. It only has an endurance of one and its range is poor at
low altitude, but if you are defending small islands or want an early defense
unit for newly captured facilities, landing your chopper and unloading your
infantry and Hawk missile can give you an immediate advantage over lesser foes,
and since the Hawk is fairly cheap you won't cry about losing a few.
3: Support is all important. An army that does not resupply in the field will
die. Figure on 1 truck for every 4-6 units. And when you can spare the
weapons, destroy your enemy's trucks to keep them from supplying, especially if
you are overmatched quality wise. The Chinese can really benefit from this when
fighting Germans, because the Leopards don't carry a wealth of ammo and once
that is gone, they must retreat, leaving them open. Of course protect your own
trucks - your enemy is thinking the same thing.
4: When in trouble and requiring some kind of air support, use assault
helicopters, as long as they have AGM missiles. The best models for this are
the UH-J1 Iroquois (Japan, Germany), the Hip-17 (Russia, China), the UH-60 Black
Hawk (Israel, USA). The only nations that don't have assault choppers with
anti-tank missiles are the UK and France - which is why their assault choppers
blow. The Black Hawk and the Israeli version of it are the best of them all,
mounting the AGM-114 missile (range 2, firepower 4, load 3), and at only $300
they're a budget attack chopper, and they can capture. A fleet of these can
really annoy the enemy.
5: Don't be overly confident with your powerful tanks (Germany, Israel), they
are not Gods-on-Treads and can be cut down easily by airpower. Preserve these
units and use them intelligently, or else you're out $500 a tank.
6: The A-10 rules. When playing America take advantage of this unique aircraft
when possible - it is the Leopard 2A6 of the air, packing a 30mm anti-tank
Gatling gun which matches the firepower of Russian and Chinese MBTs, and can
chew up enemy helicopters like nothing else, plus they can carry a selection of
bombs (okay), rockets (have their uses) and the excellent AGM-65 Maverick
Anti-Armor missile (firepower 5, range 2, load 3 - so powerful), and they carry
one Sidewinder missile for anti-air duty (save this for when they are attacked
by enemy fighters). Plus they have an endurance of 4 each. No other 10 subunit
aircraft even has a 3. And at only $1,500 they are a steal. They are slow
though, but with 90 fuel they can hang around a while.
7: Naval combat is tricky and dangerous - the ships maintain full power until
they pass to endurance 0, but ships can take damage easily, and anti-ship
weapons tend to have absurdly high firepower ratings. Make sure to provide
scout aircraft to guide your naval vessels, and it is better to have numerous
cheaper naval vessels than one or two large, expensive ones - they are so much
harder to replace. It won't hurt the French too much to lose a $2,500 Georges
Leygues frigate, but it will suck for you if you lose your $9,000 Nimitz
aircraft carrier, or your $10,000 Seawolf submarine. Fear the helicopter, for
it is cheap and can kick your ass if you're not careful. And be even more wary
of the ASW planes - for they are even better armed, and thus better able to kick
your ass, usually from a safe distance.
8: Hidden units: All the hidden units are Japanese (no surprise really - it's
a Japanese game), and I'll say this now; most of them blow. Their upgraded
tanks are barely worth it, especially the Type 90 (D7) MBT. It has the best
beginning accuracy in the game for tanks, has very good evasion making it fairly
tough to kill, but it is simply not worth $700, making it worlds more expensive
than the Leopard 2A6, which is a definitively better tank despite lower
accuracy. A computer opponent will always buy D7s when they have the money,
actually making it easier to kill them since it hurts a lot more to lose a $700
tank than a $450 one. Their new choppers are actually pretty good, their new
SPAAG can replace your recon cars, but the new (actually older model) tanks
simply stink, and their new "tank destroyer"... what? A $100 P.O.S. that fires
a low-grade HEAT rocket, has endurance 1, firepower 2, and is slower than crap.
Worthless, really.
9: The Cyber Ninja. This deserves its own category. I mean what the hell,
really? Okay, it was kind of fun for a couple of battles, but... this thing is
broken beyond all comprehension of man. I appreciate it is a joke unit, I was
just afraid of fighting a Japanese computer enemy at some point and they produce
one of these $9,600 monstrosities. I mean they cast spells people, spells!
Sure it's funny watching one Cyber Ninja squad take on the entire Israeli army
in Hyperborean by themselves - and win. But it gets old, and ruins the feel of
the game when deployed. My advice, if you have already unlocked them (you can't
relock them - they're there until you erase your game file), just ignore their
existence unless you feel like having some fun. I have never seen the computer
use them, but if you ever do quit the scenario, and while its painful I would
erase your file and start over, never to unlock the little bastards again. But
if I am right the game is programmed not to use them - thank God, Buddha, Oggun,
Shiva, the Great Pumpkin and all the rest for that one.
-Fog of war is effective in this game. In many scenarios it is to your benefit
to take out the enemy's recon ability asap.
-Use vehicles with good detection ranges to scout out the enemy while your
artillery pounds them from a distance. Remember, you artillery can't see as far
as it can fire.
-End your supply truck's turn next to units you want to supply next turn. You
can then supply those units before they act and move your supply truck and then
supply even more units before their turn (assuming you units are placed close
enough to each other).
-Damage is variable. Sometimes you'll wipe an enemy out, sometimes if you are
unlucky, you'll hardly scratch the enemy's paint. If you are having a
particularly difficult time with a fight you can save just before you move and
attack. You can then re-load and try the attack again should it not go the way
you want it to.
-Use join to merge lower level units into higher level units so that the higher
level unit stays healthy. Also use join to replace units on the front line
rather than cycling new units in, if possible.
-If a defending enemy unit has only a few sub units left then use your machine
gun or a weapon that has the most ammo. Don't waste powerful weapons on weak
enemies.
-Some transports cannot unload on beaches, they have to be in ports to unload.
This doesn't apply to all transport units but a few of them. Basically the
"transport ship" has to be in a port to unload.
===============================================================================
TERRAIN IN DAI SENRYAKU VII (D7TERR)
===============================================================================
Table: Defense and Aircraft Landing Ability
-------------------------------------------
Def Aircraft Landing Ability
Terrain Bonus % Jet VTOL Heli Airborne
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bridge 0 N N N N
Plain 0 N Y Y Y
Desert 0 N Y Y Y
Wasteland 5 N N N N
Wetland 0 N N N N
Grove 10 N N N N
Forest 15 N N N N
Hill 20 N N N Y
Mountain 25 N N N N
Peaks 0 N N N N
Lake 0 N N N N
Shallow 0 N N N N
Sea 0 N N N N
Deep Sea 0 N N N N
Snowfield 0 N Y Y Y
Snow Grove 10 N N N N
Snow Forest 15 N N N N
Snowhill 20 N N N Y
Snow Mountain 25 N N N N
Snow Peaks 0 N N N N
Capital 20 N N Y Y
City 15 N N Y Y
Factory 15 N N Y Y
Airport 10 Y Y Y Y
Refinery 5 N N Y Y
Table: Movement Costs
---------------------
Each unit has a movement type (Track, Tire, Air, etc..). Each of these types is
subdivided into sub-types (A, B, Extra Low, Low, Submerged, etc..). Here are the
movement costs associated with each type and sub-type of movement.
When locations are given for enemy units these are the locations on turn 1 when
they are either visible upon starting the level or are made visible by moving a
unit capable of scanning them into their vicinity. These locations are not
guaranteed beyond the first turn. When no location is given that means either
I've not recorded the location OR the enemy unit hasn't been encountered until
later in the game. As time goes on I will add turn-1 location information to
enemy units.
Also, consider the enemy unit lists to be terribly incomplete (some are labelled
as such but they are not the only incomplete lists).
The following format is followed for each mission, sections are titled
appropriately. Each mission is separated by a row of "=" signs.
Mission Title
Army Data (Color, Country, Funds, Fuel, Com level, Allies)
OBJECTIVE: Capture all facilities in the archipelago except for RED capital.
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW: This is your first mission and it's pretty basic from the
get-go. Take a look at your units and note which of them are capable of
capturing cities as that is your goal in this level. An alternative path to
victory is eliminating all of the enemy units; in fact that is a much faster way
to victory.
Only three of your units have CAP capability so be sure to keep them safe as
your goal is to capture all of the facilities on these islands. Use your Bradley
CFV to scout out enemy positions and your Paladins and your Abrams to eliminate
them.
REWARDS:
Open Training Exercise Map in Free Play
YOUR UNITS (USA): ENEMY UNITS (USA):
Infantry(3) (M+C, Cap) M3 Bradley CFV
M109 A6 Paladin x 2 155mm Deployed x 4
M1A2 Abrams M109 x 3
M2 Bradley IFV x 2 (Cap) M901 ITV
M3 Bradley CFV
Support Tanker
STRATEGY:
From Akaimizu:
I remember this map well, and I have the solution to take out that
Howitzer. Get ready, because you're about to find out one of Diasenryaku's
coolest early-found features.
In order to make this easier, it's best to ready your 2 paladin units. I
hope you kept them alive as you'll have a slower and tougher time with
just 1. 2 makes it easy.
Anyway, to solve this mystery is to get more intimate with each of your
individual units. That is, look into each of their stats. Still, I'll help
out so you don't have to do as much looking (even though you will want to,
later on. There's some good bits of subtle detail to look at, in their
screens.)
Take note that your Paladins have a much different firing range than their
detection range. They can possibly shoot stuff that they can't detect yet,
but only if another unit you have can.
Here's the trick. Gloss over each one of your units and then select the
SCAN option. This shows you the detection range of the selected unit for
each level of altitude (if applicable). One of your units might as well be
named Eagle eye as it has a far better range of visual detection (at
ground level) than the rest of your units.
What you need to do is move that unit into a position to light up (show)
that howitzer. It doesn't have to be that close to shore, bring it as
close as the factory (still outside attack range of the enemy howitzer)
and it'll still be in detection range of your unit. You'll find that it is
sitting right on top of the enemy base. You can't reach that land, but
your Paladins can pummel it with ordinance if close enough. So leave your
'eyes' right there. There's no more need to move that unit, as it is doing
precisely what it needs to do (be a spotter to tell your Paladins where
they should be firing their weapons).
Here's where you use a bit of cunning to knock the rooster from his roost.
The mere fact that the howitzer is on the capital (or any city at all) is
the secret to its great defense. In Advance Wars, cities simply added
defense to units occupying it. In this game, the effect is even tougher to
overcome. The cities don't necessarily give defense, but when you combine
this game's subunit style of unit construction with the fact that
cities/capitals replenish lost units each turn, you can start to see where
I'm getting at. The added defense plus unit replenishment is better than
the AW defense plus small replenishment simply because it takes effort to
bring down units that the city easily replenishes each turn. AW is easier
to overrun because you can take down units quickly and much faster than
the need to replenish them, provided you have the right weapons.
Here, you have the right weapons, but that enemy unit is getting great
support and no sign of loss by attrition. However, two Paladin teams can
upset the balance better and knock them down.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, you want to make sure you use
infantry to capture the two cities along the coastline(important). Now,
you're ready for your attack. Bring your two paladins within their firing
range (which just happens to be right on top of the two cities you
'liberated'). Make sure you DON'T move that unit you used to see the
howitzer, it is the eyes of those paladins(without it, none of your units
will be able to see or attack it). You are effectively now using the
howitzers idea of defense against it, since you have two paladin units
with the same evil defense tactic. Cities that can replenish lost paladin
sub units, and now you are fighting on the uneven turf you need. Now
simply plug away at that thing without moving anybody, just shoot it down
with the 2 paladins' long-range volley each turn, and that thing is toast
"mission over".
Blue (China) 3000/1000
Red (Russia) 5000/3000 E.Com
OBJECTIVE: Capture RED Army's capital city.
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW: Your Infantry and Type 92s are both capable of capturing so
guard them well. Turns out your infantry is type one and so they are packing
SAMs. They will have their work cut out for them with the helicopters so most of
the capture work will be done by the Type 92s. Your front line is going to be
across that first bridge to the south. Your Recon Vehicle is in a very bad
situation so your first order of business will be to get it back behind your own
lines.
Although the level isn't too hard it might be best to save and reload the first
turn until you can accomplish two things: take out the helicopter with your
infantry (it can be done on the first turn, just keep trying) and take out at
least one of the MiGs with your PGZ-95s.
The MiG is less important really because it's going to fly back to base to get
healed anyway and an second MiG will be along that your HQ-15 should mess up on
turn 2.
REWARDS:
MBT Type 69 MBT (China)
APC Type 92 (China)
YOUR FORCES (China): ENEMY FORCES (Russia): (Incomplete List)
HQ-15 Deployed MiG-25R Foxbat B x 2
Infantry(1) x 2 (M+C) Mi-24 Hind x 2
PGZ-95 x 2 Ka-50 Black Shark x
PLZ-45 x 2 BRM-1
Recon Vehicle T-72
Support Tanker Infantry
Type 69 MBT x 3
Type 83 SPH x 2
Type 89
Type 92 x 2 (CAP)
STRATEGY:
from Joe Benet:
If I may, I'd like to suggest a tactic for Mission 2: Capturing
Facilities. It took me two tries to complete this mission (I don't do any
save-lose battle-reload tricks, just play the hand I'm dealt.) I noticed
on the first run thru that the enemy's recon planes, the Mig-25R Foxbats,
I guess, were just too tough for my HQ-15 to take out with one shot. I
also noticed that the Migs would recon my capital, take my shot, then go
away and repair at a nearby airport, because when they came back they were
at full strength again. So on my first try I was subject to constant
enemy recon.
On the second try I set a trap for this recon unit. They start off doing
recon at my capital so I shot them with the HQ-15. When they took off
next turn to repair I moved one of my other SAMs (PGZ-95 OR PLZ-45?) into
position next to my capital so that when the Migs came back I could get
two shots off on them. Sure enough when they came back they stopped right
outside the capital, and the two anti-aircraft units working in unison
were able to destroy the enemy recon unit!
Blue (Germany) 3000/3000
Red (Israel) 3000/3000 E.Com
OBJECTIVES: Use the new Leopard 2A6 units to seize RED militia's capital city.
At least one Leopard must survive this mission.
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW: This mission is actually quite simple, simpler if you pay
attention to the ranges of enemy guns, simpler still if you use your jet and
focus on the objective without getting distracted. You have at your disposal the
super tank "Leopard" so charge forward without fear.
Basically, let Red army come across the bridge but beforehand set up your
artillery pieces so that they can pummel Red's tanks from a distance.
REWARDS: MBT Leopard 2A6 (Germany)
YOUR FORCES (Germany) ENEMY FORCES (Israel)
Tornado RECCE Truck x 2
Leopard 2A6 x 6 Magach 7A x 4
155mm Deployed x 4 M109 x 2
Infantry 155mm Deployed x 2
MLRS Achzarit x 2
Marder A3 x 3 Special Forces x 2
PZH 2000 x 4 Merkava Mk.2 x 6
Support Tanker Merkava Mk.3
Truck Infantry x 2
Blue (USA) 15000/2000 [Y]
Red (Russia) 18000/2000 E.Com
Yellow (UK) 5000/1000 E.Com [B]
OBJECTIVES: Either eliminate all of the enemy's strike forces, or have at least
16 YELLOW Support Tankers survive to the end of turn 12.
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW: Another relatively easy mission as long as you use the
Nimitz and it's fighters well. You should never even have to fire a shot from
your Patriots or Hawks. Just patrol the waters north of the Yellow transports
and all will go fine. Watch your fuel levels and bring your F-35Bs back to the
Nimitz when needed.
REWARDS:
Interceptor F35B (USA)
Map "Merchant Defense" available in Free Play.
YOUR FORCES (USA): ENEMY FORCES (Russia): (Incomplete)
Avenger x 3 Su-24 Fencer x 3
Nimitz A-50 Mainstay
E2-C Hawkeye
E3-C Sentry
F-35B x 5
F/A-18E x 2
Infantry
KC-135 Stratotanker
LAV-AD x 3
40mmAAG Towed x 3
Patriot Deployed
Patriot Towed x 3
HAWK Towed x 3
Support Tanker x 3
OBJECTIVES: Build up your funds to 10000 before RED Army.
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW: This mission can be tough if you are tempted to grab the
outer cities instead of focusing on the real money makers...the factories in the
middle of the map. They are protected by artillery so you'll need to rush in and
take them out while also bringing in capture capable units.
One thing you can do instead of the objectives is send two of your ships (loaded
with capture and assault units) around the island and get an assault on RED
capital...That is what I did and ended up with B+ thanks to some inept moves I
made doing this.
REWARDS:
Assault Ship Oosumi (Japan) unlocked.
Attack Heli OH-1 (Japan) unlocked.
Map: Southern Reef Forces available in Free Play.
YOUR FORCES (Japan): (Buildable)
155mm Deployed x 5
OH-1 x 3
Oosumi x 3
Recon Vehicle x 3
Special Forces x 2
Support Tanker x 2
Type 89 IFV x 2
Type 90 MBT x 2
Type 96 MPMS
Type 99 SPH x 2
ENEMY FORCES (China):
STRATEGIES:
TheVoid00 says:
First, all two of the three ships have special forces on them that can
move and capture. If you flip the map so that your capital is at the
bottom of the screen and the red capital is at the top, move the left most
ship to the shore at the top left of the mainland (right next to two
neutral cities and 1 neutral refinery or factory), unload it completely
except for one group of special forces. If you're completely empty, you
should have 1 chopper for aerial recon, and enough back up for your
special forces so you can take the three neutral spots before the enemy
gets there. Move the ship to the top left of the map, there should be an
island with one neutral city. No one will go for that, and it will take a
while to get to it and back, so I went for it anyway, if you feel you need
both special forces, don't bother with that island.
The other ship on the left side of the map should have a tank buster (with
Move AND attack ability), move the ship to the shallow water (there should
be a small inlet right across from the southmost bridge where you can
offload most of the units from that ship), and try to get all the units
from that ship in position to help cause a bottleneck at the bridge. Also
tow all the artillery at the capital towards that left side and put them
in positions so you can hit things coming across and possibly hit the
enemy infantry that will be taking the factories in the center of the map.
On the right side of the map, move the ship there to shallow waters and
unload everyone you should have one APC that can capture and enough tank
fire power to hold off that area and eventually take all three spots.
(Also if you're bored, make one infantry unit and use this ship to pick
them up from the port and ferry them to the bottom of the map to take the
city on the island there) Watch for enemy units coming all the way round
the right side, usually 1 infantry with a tank escort. Use your choppers
to keep that place lit up (you should also have one recon unit there),
don't move too close to the enemy capital with your chopper 'cos they have
an anti air unit deployed.
Basically everything you start with should ensure that you capture and
hold the neutral points on the left and right sides. So every other unit
you produce should be to take down the 4 factories in the middle. I went
with 1 main tank (I forget the name MBT something) for every 2 long range
tanks (Type 99 SPH, the more expensive ones have move and attack for 5
hexes at 0), place them behind the MBT and let the MBT take most of the
damage as you go in from the left side. You'll also need someone to
convert the factories when you're done. You might have troops left over
from the right side (the APC and support team that was in charge of taking
the 3 neutral points), make them stay at the bottom right entrance and try
to take down the guns also.
Since it's about funds, watch for enemy infantry sneaking around. It's
important to keep the battles localized by blocking off the points where
the enemy tanks can come through with tanks of your own that can take a
lot of damage. But it's more important to kill infantry so get a smaller
faster unit to mop up infantry and APC (units that can convert) that spill
through the cracks.
Lady Fox says:
I actually managed to take the factories, but it was tough going - took me
two tries. They key is to make use of your reserve units that are sitting
pretty in those transports and fight on three fronts - to the west, the
center, and the east.
Most of your fighting will be to the west and center, as the enemy's main
thrust will come from there, and you have to turtle your artillery up
behind your armor, and ideally place them in a position where the can fire
both towards the center and to the west if need be.
You have to accept the fact that you're going to take an occasional
pounding from enemy artillery, and just try and double or triple-team each
enemy artillery piece while staying out of range of the others as much as
possible.
I managed to start capturing the center when the enemy had half of the
factories capped. At that point it was just a matter of holding the center
and the western front.
It's easier than it sounds, but it takes a little trial and error.
Also, don't forget to use your helicopter for recon! That's key!
White Destiny says:
On this one I went for the all out attack approach. I landed all my
troops at the nearest beach and at my capital on my first few turns I
brought one SP-Rocket MLRS some MBTs and IFVs . I then moved all of my
artillery, recon and others forward and blew the crap out of the Red
Army. It was fun.. and don't forget to get a supply truck.. you'll need
it.
OBJECTIVES: Maintain at least 20 BLUE Army units while destroying all RED Army
submarines.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Don't forget that your Invincible has some Lynx's on board
that will help greatly in your search for subs. This mission is pretty darned
easy though you will probably spend a lot of time looking for the last sub. You
can be pretty free with your helicopters and Nimrods as nothing in the mission
can attack them.
REWARDS:
Super ASW Heli Lynx (Germany)
ASW Heli Lynx Mk.8 (UK)
YOUR FORCES (UK): ENEMY FORCES (USA):
Invincible Seawolf x 5
Lynx Mk.8 x 10 (ASW Heli) E-2C Hawkeye x 2
Supply Ship x 10
Nimrod MR2 x 3
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: This is perhaps one of the easiest missions in the game.
All you need to do is assault the factory with a well timed strike of at least a
few special forces. It would be nice if you could bring one of your Type 99's in
as well but isn't necessary.
REWARDS:
Light Tank Type 99 Amph. Tank (China)
Map Forest Stronghold available in Free Play mode.
YOUR FORCES (China): ENEMY FORCES (Russia):
Infantry x 6 BMD-3
Special Forces x 2 Mi-24 Hind
Type 99 Amph. Tank x 2 152mm Deployed x 3
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: This is your first large scale battle. With 45 units
across 25 unit types at your disposal you are going to have your hands full
keeping everyone supplied. The goal is to sink all of RED Army's warships, with
that in mind it will be a good idea to have a handle on how to search the seas
for enemy boats. Watch out for subs as they can do a lot of damage.
REWARDS:
Destroyer DD-21 Zumwalt (USA)
Submarine SSN-774 Virginia (USA)
Map Vermillion Keys available for use in Free Play mode.
YOUR FORCES (USA): ENEMY FORCES (Russia):
Avenger Kilo (Project 877) x 3
Ticonderoga x 2 MiG-25R Foxbat
CH-47 Chinook x 2 2S6M Tunguska
Zumwalt x 4 37mm AAG Deployed
F/A-18D (RC) An-124 Ruslan
F/A-22 Raptor Neustrashimyy x 3
San Antonio Ka-27 Helix
M1 Abrams x 3 Paratroopers x 2
M109 x 2 Mi-17 Hilo
M1109 Recon HMMWV Admiral Kuznetsov x 3
M113A3 APC
155mm Deployed
M3 Bradley CFV
Patriot Deployed x 3
HAWK Deployed x 2
P-3C Orion
Paratroopers x 3
RAH-66 Comanche
S-3B Viking
SH-60 Sea Hawk x 2
Seawolf
Virginia x 3
Special Forces x 3
UH-60 Black Hawk
V-22 Osprey x 2
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: You'll be advancing on the enemy's capital on two sides.
Your Foudre's will unload their units on the east and west coasts and it's a
SLOW battle to the capital thanks to the snow. While the title "Hot and Cold"
might be appropriate for the Free Mode battle where you will likely fight
battles on both sides, this fight is mostly "Cold" (i.e. on the Snowy side of
the map).
REWARDS:
Assault Ship Foudre (France)
SPH AU-F2 (France)
Map Hot and Cold playable in Free Play mode
YOUR FORCES (France):
AMX-10P x 3 (Cap)
AMX-10RC x 4
AMX-30 AU-F1 x 3
AMX-30B2
AU-F2 x 7
Foudre x 5
Leclerc x 4
MLRS
SA-342M Gazelle x 2
Special Forces
Support Tanker x 2
ENEMY FORCES: (China)
152mm Deployed x 3
Type 69 MBT x 2
Recon Vehicle x 1
HQ-15 Deployed x 2
37mm AAG Deployed x 2
PLZ-45 x 2
OBJECTIVES: Protect BLUE Army's capital for 12 turns.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: You have to watch out for some artillery pieces that RED
will move close to the border (across from your capital). He will pummel your
artillery on turn 1 unless you do something about it. Assuming the enemy captial
is north of you, start by sending all of your artillery to the forested hills
SSW of the capital. Make sure you use your air support to their best advantage.
The ATACMSes will come in handy with area damage, it's good to put one of your
ATACMSes on a city so it can keep supplied.
Position your artillery intelligently, around a single hex for easy resupply.
Oh, don't waste your time trying to ECM (your Prowlers) the units that move into
Red's capital and surrounding facilities. Instead use ECM to prevent units that
will cross the bridges on both sides from seeing you.
REWARDS:
Multi-role F-35A (USA)
Attack FB-22 (USA)
Map "Border Dispute" is available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (USA):
EA-6B Prowler x 2
F-35A X 2
F/A-18D(RC) x 2
FB-22 x 2
KC-135 Stratotanker x 2
M109A6 Paladin x 8
M1109 Recon HMMWV x 2
155mm Deployed x 4
M270 MLRS
M3 Bradley CFV x 3
ATACMS Deployed
ATACMS Towed x 3
Support Tanker x 2
ENEMY FORCES: (Incomplete)
ATACMS Deployed
ATACMS Towed x 2
Support Tanker x 2
OBJECTIVES: Capture 50 facilities before RED Army destroys YELLOW Army.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: You start out this fight with 8 properties so you'll need
42 more in order to beat it. Use your capture capable troops wisely and this
mission should be a cake-walk.
REWARDS:
+++ Attack Heli 500MD Lahatut (Israel)
+++ MBT Merkava Mk. 4 (Israel)
+++ Map "Hotsands Offensive" is available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (Israel): YELLOW FORCES (Israel): ENEMY FORCES (Russia):
(Incomplete)
500MD Lahatut x 4 Infantry Infantry
A-4N Ahit x 2 HAWK Deployed 152mm Towed
CH-53 Yasur x 4 (TRNS) 155mm Deployed 152mm Deployed
F-15 Baz x 3 Patriot Deployed x 2 Su-34 x 2
F-15I Raam x 2 Magach 7A x 2 Tor M1 ADS x 3
F-16C Barak x 3 Ramta RBY x 2 2S6M Tunguska x 2
F-4E-2000 Kurnass x 2 Merkava Mk.2 MiG-31 Foxhound
Infantry x 2 (CAP) BMD-3
Kfir-C7 x 2 BTR-T
M113 Bardehlass (CAP) Mi-17 Hip H x 2
Merkava Mk. 3 x 2 BRDM-3 x 2
Merkava Mk. 4 x 6 T-72 x 3
Paratroopers x 8 (CAP) MiG-25R Foxbat-B x 2
RF-4E Oref x 2 S-300 PMU x 2
Ramta RBY x 3 BTR-80
Support Tanker x 2 Mi-24 Hind x 2
Truck x 2 T-80 x 3
Su-24 Fencer
Su-33 Naval Flanker
3 Support Tankers
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: These suckers are hard to find. Your best bet is to use
your Horizons for scouting and then attack with your Tigers. Don't forget that
your Trigat on your Tigers has a DOWN range of 1 so you'll need to be at GROUND
level over water to hit the Luns which will be at SURF level.
REWARDS:
Attack Heli AS 532L Horizon Cougar (France)
Map "Sea Monster" is now playable in Free Mode
YOUR FORCES (France):
155mm Deployed
AS 532UL Horizon x 5
Atlantic 2 x 4
KC-135FR x 2
Lafayette x 2
Support Tanker x 3
Tiger x 6
ENEMY FORCES: (Not Started)
Lun xxxxxx
Neustrashimyy xx
37mm AAG xxxxxxxxxxx
S-300 PMU xx
OBJECTIVES: Return at least one of the new Light Armored Vehicles to BLUE Army's
capital city.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Your best bet here is to bring over the LAV's through the
snow skirting the edge of the hills/mountains. Your biggest threat should you
take that route will be the Leopard 25A's.
REWARDS:
Recon Vehicle Light Armored Vehicle (Japan)
Map "Lost World" is available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (Japan): YELLOW FORCES (israel):
LAV x 3 Merkava Mk.3 x 2
Special Forces x 2 Merkava Mk.4
Support Tanker x 2 Ramta RBY
Type 73 APC Support Tanker
Type 87 RCV x 2 Infantry x 5
Type 89 IFV M109 x 3
Type 90 MBT x 3 Achzarit
Type 96 APC
Type 96 MPMS x 3
Type 99 SPH x 5
OBJECTIVES: Maintain at least 15 BLUE facilities while depleting RED Army's
facilities to 15 or less within 20 turns.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: This is one of my favorite missions in the game. Your job
is to capture enough of Red Army's facilities so that they are reduced to 15 or
less of them. The mission starts off with Red actually gaining territory and if
you're not careful some of that territory will have been yours. Halfway through
the scenario however you've regained your footing and it's a race to reduce Red
to a mere 15 facilities.
You will definitely want to take out any Red Army M1109 HMMWVs as soon as you
see them. Their detection range will allow Red Army's 109's and 155mm's to just
destory you before you have a chance to retaliate. Remember, the only cities on
the map are in the hotly contested center area so you'll need to stay healthy
until you can capture a few of them for your own.
The center cities are your focus for the first 9 or 10 turns. Be SURE to take
out the infantry on either side of the map ASAP. Anyway, you need to occupy all
of the center cities (or most of them) by turn 9 or 10 then you can start moving
your army across the bridge. There are of course assorted surprises waiting for
you across the bridge but it's nothing you shouldn't be able to handle by being
careful. A speedy capture of the remaining facilities should be your priority.
REWARDS:
Tank Destroyer 2S25 Sprut-SD (Russia)
Map "Black Gold" playable in Free Play mode
YOUR FORCES: ENEMY FORCES:
2S19 MSTA-S x 10 155mm deployed x 7
2S25 Sprut-SD x 8 Infantry x 2
9A52 Smerch x 2 M1109 Recon HMMWV x 4
BMD-3 x 3 M109 x 7
BTR-T x 3 (Cap) M2 Bradley IFV
Special Forces x 7 (M+C) M1 Abrams
Support Tanker x 4 M113A3 x 3
T-80 x 2
OBJECTIVES: BLUE Army must either occupy 7 or more facilites or capture RED
Army's capital city.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Take your time on this one. You'll notice that your A3's
are the only ones that are great at hitting vehicles. I took 29 turns to beat
this level and still ended up with an S Rank. I did not go for the capital due
to the twelve 152mm Artillery units surrounding it. Turns out that RED Army has
a pretty weak force as long as you hit the BTR-Ts with your PzHs and your A3s.
Keep your Marder's well supplied as they only have one good shot at Vehicles.
They are also your capture units so keep them safe by weakening the enemy with
PzH fire before moving in with the A3. Scout with your Helis (VBH) and you'll do
fine. Just don't go rushing in, wait for your A3s to catch up.
REWARDS:
Attack Heli VBH BO-105M (Germany)
Map "Snow Shell" available in Free Play mode.
YOUR FORCES (Germany): ENEMY FORCES (Russia):
Marder A3 x 4 (CAP) BTR-T x 3
PzH 2000 x 6 Infantry x 5
Support Tanker x 3 2S3 Akatsiya x 5
VBH BO-105M x 3 T-72
Wiesel 1-MK.20A1 x 2 152mm Deployed 2
S-300PMU
9P140 Uragan
STRATEGY:
AirborneAce says:
That level is sooooooooooooooo easy.......you dont need to read up on a
strategy guide for that.
I used my Recon Choppers and PanzerHowitzers on the Arty Guns and got an S
rank.
And Tyrannical responds:
Airborne ace is right. The level was really easy. Just don't do anything
stupid, like charging ahead before you reconned an area with your
choppers.
OBJECTIVES: During 15 turns, protect all six of GREEN Army's reconnaissance
vehicles.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: This is another fantastically easy mission...sigh. Your
Apaches can just have to hang out near the GREEN Army's units. Move your supply
trucks over and park them near a few Plain terrain types so your Apaches can use
them to resupply. Survive 15 turns without losing any units and you're in good.
REWARDS:
Recon Vehicle VBL (France)
Map "Search For Hope" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (USA): RED ARMY (Russia): (Incomplete)
A-10 Thunderbolt 152mm Deployed x 7 (26,25)(25,19)(26,19)
AH-64 Apache x 8 2S25 Sprut-SD x 2
M113A3 APC BRM-1
Support Tanker x 2 2S3 Akatsiya x 3
S-300PMU Deployed (26,18)
GREEN ARMY (France): Support Tanker
T-72 x 2
VBL x 6
Support Tanker x 3
OBJECTIVES: Bring BLUE Army Special Forces back to our capital city.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Use your Halo to pick up the special forces and bring them
back home.
REWARDS:
Attack Heli Ka-52 Alligator (Russia)
Map "Arctic Rescue" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (Russia): ENEMY FORCES (UK): (Incomplete)
2S19 MSTA-S x 2 Starstreak SP x 10
2S25 Sprut-SD Challenger 1
Ka-50 Black Shark x 3 Saxon
Ka-52 Alligator x 6
Mi-26 Halo
Special Forces
Su-27 Flanker
Support Tanker
OBJECTIVES: In 25 turns or less, eliminate all of GREEN Army's support tankers.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: A few easy to find ships in the water but don't forget all
the tankers by GREEN Army's capital!
REWARDS:
Assault Ship LHD-1 Wasp (USA)
Attack Heli OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (USA)
Map "Boa Strike" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR ARMY (USA): ENEMY ARMY (Russia): (Incomplete)
A-10 Thunderbolt x 2 Admiral Kuznetsov (41,48)
Ticonderoga Slava
Zumwalt Admiral Ushakov
Arleigh Burke
Wasp x 3 GREEN ARMY: (Incomplete)
M1A2 Abrams x 2
M3 Bradley CFV x 2 Supply Ship (44,48)
OH-58D x 8 Supply Truck
Oliver Hazard Perry
RAH-66 Comanche x 4
Seawolf x 4
Virginia x 2
Supply Ship x 2
Support Tanker x 3
STRATEGY:
Tyrannical:
I hated the sink all green supply ships and blow up all tanker trucks.
Red army has quite a few choppers and you really are lacking anti-air
units. Most of your navy can't move and shoot air units except with the
ship's cannons. Those three Russian carriers are quite powerful anti-ship
/ anti-air units also.
GrayHairedGamer:
I guess you mean Boa Strike, mission 18. Yeah, I'm on that now and it
isn't making me jump for joy! So far I've just charged ahead, landed some
ground troops by Green Base, some copters, and sunk a few ships. Did
destroy two ground to air missile truck emplacements near Red base, but
have taken some major hurting in response! I wonder if taking out Green's
base would disable ALL of their supply ships at once? Hmmmm---
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Load up the Lun that is next to the coast with the units
that are next to it then move all the Luns around the horn to the island with
RED Capital...this mission is a piece of cake. Capture the two cities beneath
GREEN Captial just for the hell of it.
REWARDS:
Assault Ship Lun (Russia)
Map "Crimson Revolt" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR ARMY (Russia):
2S19 MSTA-S x 3
BMD-3 x 5
Lun x 3
Special Forces x 6
T-80 x 3
OBJECTIVES: Bring all eight of BLUE Army's transport ships safely into our
harbor.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: This mission is quite a challenge. You not only have to
defend the transports but your very small force up north will have a battle on
its hands as well.
Basically you want to delay the land battle until your sub, which has a
devastating land reach can get up there to help out. You will want to take out
the recon units that RED Army sends out asap because their artillery will kill
you quickly.
Finally, the sea battle isn't difficult. Just remember your 2 hex range on your
F-35Cs and use your Helicopters to take out enemy subs.
My first win at this battle took me 23 turns. I've not tried to optimize it yet
but I'm sure it can happen faster.
REWARDS:
Destroyer Darling (Type 45) (UK)
VTOL F-35C (UK)
VTOL F-35C (USA)
Map "Scarlet Breakout" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR ARMY (UK):
155mm Deployed x 3
AS90 Braveheart x 4
Astute
Challenger 2
Type 45 x 4
EH-101 Merlin x 2
F-35C x 3
Invincible
Type 42
Sabre x 3
Special Forces x 3
Striker x 2
Supply Ship
Transport Ship x 8
Warrior x 2
ENEMY ARMY (France): (Incomplete)
Lafayette x 2
Georges Leygues x 3
Cassard
Rubis
Leclerc
AMX-10RC x 2
AU-F2 x 3
lots more...
STRATEGY:
Tyrannical:
This is the mission where you have to dock all 8 transport ships, having
first captured those 8 docks.
Has anyone tried to capture red's capital instead? You have one dock near
your capital, the enemy has 3 docks near his capital, and you have plenty
o ftransport ships. Move your army full retreat back to your dock, load up
your transport ships and invade / capture the capitol instead.
Or would that take way longer then the normal way?
whitewolf84:
I would not try that out as it is quite risky,seeing as how there are
quite a number of artillery pieces near the capital(I've encountered at
least 2 SPH units as my aircraft and ships passed the strait).You'll lose
the mission as soon as you lose one transport ship.
AirborneAce:
If there was an airport to change my fighters' loadouts, then I might have
attempted it but Im pretty sure they surrounded that joker with artillery.
Thats what they do in most missions.
OBJECTIVES: Hold at least eight cities for 20 turns.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Your first 50 unit Mission Battle. What do you have to
look forward to? Well, try it a few times before reading the next paragraph...
Move your transport helis into the RED Capital and take it out...finished this
one in 3 turns :P
REWARDS:
Tank Destroyer Wiesel 1-TOW (Germany)
Map "Aim for Power" is now avaliable for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (Germany):
CH-53G x 4
Gepard x 2
HAWK Deployed x 6
Leopard 2A6 x 2
Marder A3 x 4
PAH-2 Tiger x 3
Patriot Deployed x 7
PzH 2000 x 3
Roland 2 x 5
Special Forces x 4
Support Tanker x 2
Wiesel 1-MK.20A1 x 4
Wiesel 1-TOW x 4
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all of the enemy's artillery units in 25 turns or less.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Throw everything you've got at it. It's easier to capture
the capital than it is to destroy all the artillery.
REWARDS:
Assault Ship Albion (UK)
Map "Golden Citadel" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (UK):
AS90 Braveheart x 5
Albion x 5
Apache AH Mk 1 x 5
Challenger 2 x 10
Type 45 x 2
MLRS x 2
Sabre x 5
Special Forces x 2 (Cap)
Striker x 3
Support Tanker x 2
Tornado GR1A x 2
Transport Ship x 2
Warrior x 2 (Cap)
ENEMY FORCES (USA): (Incomplete)
Oliver Hazard Perry x 2
Ticonderoga x 1
Seawolf x 1
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Another 50 unit battle plus you have an ally. Does that
make this mission easy? Read on to find out.
Actually the RED Army won't provide as much resistance as the intro says it
will. Your first order of business will be to remove the two submarine threats
in the water or else you WILL take some damage. If you get lucky then your
Hangzhou and WZ-9A can eliminate one of the subs on turn one with the TEST-71M
and A-244S respectively. If your luck holds out the 2nd sub can be had with your
two WZ-9As and their A-244Ses. Using the Save/Reload exploit I found that one
time in 5 I was able to eliminate both subs on turn one.
After that, land your units that are carried in the Yutings on the beach and the
ones in the Transport Ships at your ports. Move north with your army using
Gazelles and your Aircraft to take out the few artillery pieces. Once you near
the RED capital you should have received very little damage so just take out the
patriots with whatever is convenient. You'll probably find capturing it with
your Z-9s easier that moving your special forces up. Besides, your Special
Forces will likely be busy taking out enemy helicopters with their SAMs.
REWARDS:
Assault Ship Yuting (China)
Fighter Jian-10 (China)
ASW Heli WuZhi-9A (China)
Map "The Beachhead" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
YOUR FORCES (China):
HQ-15 Deployed
Hangzhou
J-10 x 3
JZ-6
PLZ-45 x 4
Recon Vehicle x 2
SA-342L Gazelle x 3
Special Forces x 4
Support Tanker x 2
Transport Ship x 2
Type 86 IFV x 3
Type 88B MBT x 2
Type 88C MBT x 2
Type 89 SPMLR x 4
Type 98 MBT x 6
WZ-9A x 3
Yuting x 5
Z-9 x 2
OBJECTIVES: At least 10 of YELLOW Army's troops must survive and you must seize
RED Army's captial city.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: You may want to play this mission a couple of times just
so you can watch the paths that the YELLOW Army takes. This way you know the
paths to clear out first. After clearing the paths it's just cleanup work around
the capital and elsewhere while YELLOW Army takes it's sweet time capturing the
capital.
REWARDS:
Attack AC-130U Spooky (USA)
Map "Entrenched" now available for use in Free Play Mode.
YOUR FORCES (USA):
A-10 Thunderbolt x 6
AC-130U Spooky x 8
F/A-18D(RC) x 2
KC-135 Stratotanker x 2
YELLOW FORCES (Israel):
Special Forces x 17
M113 Bardehlass x 6
Merkava Mk.3 x 2
ENEMY FORCES (Russia):
9A52 Smerch x Loads of em
STRATEGY/NOTES:
Tyrannical has this to say about this level:
The level where you have the HUGE air force and are protecting the yellow
army. The level is scored by how well the yellow army did, not how well
you did.
I got a pathetic score on the enemy subunits destroyed because the yellow
army barely attacked anything because I did all the destruction. I can't
see how you could get an S rank on that level.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Damn them to hell for giving us China for this battle!
Coordinating a well timed strike from multiple directions is absolutely KEY
here. Don't forget, you very nearly have the enemy capital surrounded at the
start of the game. At the risk of a pun, captialize on that to the best of your
abilities. Keep the enemy fire spread out by assaulting the capital from several
directions at once.
REWARDS:
Tank Destroyer Type 92 ATGW (China)
Map "Day of Revolution" is now available for use in Free Play Mode
Credits Roll
BONUS MAPS for Free Play Mode have been unlocked.
YOUR FORCES (China):
152mm Deployed x 1
Infantry x 21
Special Forces x 6
Truck x 6
Type 92 x 3
Type 92 ATGW x 8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the subject of Infantry being overpowered:
---------------------------------------------
Tyrannical has this to say:
Compared to other games I've played like advanced wars, these infantry are
tough.
3 endurance is pretty high. Most weapons that have a high soldier hit %
like machine guns are low power. Most 3 power weapons like 120mm tank
shell has a much lower hit % against infantry then against vehicles.
Most light (non-tank) vehicles that attack infantry usually get beat up
pretty bad, especially if they still have the AT rockets.
2 or 3 infantry with their single SAM can destroy or cripple most air
units.
They don't carry many shots, but being able to quickly capture a city and
thus resupply them selves helps. A soldier sitting on a city is a force to
be reckoned with. A single ground vehicle (non-artillary) or chopper can't
kick him off. Often it seems, a single artillary can't damage him fast
enough to kill an infantry when he is sitting on a city.
3 scan radius is better then most vehicles, especially most tanks.
They do move slow at a rate of 3. But all an infantry swarm needs is a
couple of trucks to bring in re-enforements and a supply truck or two. In
a war of attrition, infantry rock. What ever you use to take out the $100
infantry will take far more $$$ in damage.
Move and shoot artillary can be used against infantry. But it takes about
3 good shots from a ~$400 howitzer per infantry. And you need to be in a
constant state of retreat. And you need atleast a good recon vehicle.
Infantry: cheap to build at $100.
ikancu responds:
From my Panzer General days, I've never concerned myself too much with
infantry. I tend go for a lot of artillery and air superiority. My
offensive battle groups usually consist of a lot of artillery, some heavy
armor, a few anti-air units, and some helicopters (Apaches), plus recon
units and one or two units that can capture.
Infantry move so slow, and it just seems too much of a hassle to move them
around in trucks. Not to mention (which is why I'm mentioning it) their
payloads are too small. I prefer to use tracked units and helicopters that
can capture, since I prefer highly mobile battle groups. That is the
result of my Panzer General playing days where one had limited turns in
which to take objectives. I will give infantry a try though to hold
cities, if they are indeed hard to dislodge.
Tyrannical:
Some of the more powerful tanks may be able to take out an infantry camped
out on a city. I don't think any capture capable units can though.
Obviously they are vulnerable to ranged attacks. I think infantry sams
have a range of 2 against low air units. An apache may be able to kick an
infantry off, but it will probably regret trying it.
Cities have good defence, heal all damaged sub units, and I think create
up to 3 destroyed sub units, and resupply all ammo. Infantry's big
weakness is low ammo and slow movement. When they are on a city and not
moving that is two disadvantes you don't need to worry about. I'd probably
use the 6 gun / 1 SAM / 1 AT weapon pack. BUT, if faced by an armor unit I
might consider skipping an attack to switch to 2 gun / 2 AT so the next
turn I can attack and counter attack.
An infantry loaded on a truck has a decent attack range as both truck and
infantry can move. A couple of infantry spread out for defence, with a
truck loaded infantry capable of moving / attacking / defending any of the
other infantry is a good cost effective startegy.
whitewolf84 offers:
I kind of see the endurance infantry have as the developer making it more
realistic in a sense,cause infantry are not that easy to hit with tanks in
an actual war.
Perhaps the developer should have made them less vulnerable to heavy
weaponry(by having heavy weaponry miss them more) and more vulnerable to
stuff like machineguns,small caliber guns and grenades,and have their
endurance lowered as a result.
Tyrannical:
The high hit % guns against infantry are all power 1. Not much good
against 3 endurance units.
I remember in AW recon units could chase infantry around. Not anymore.
Their AT can do a serious number on anything weaker then a tank.
Throwing infantry at tanks is also a good cheap way to make a tank run out
of ammo. I don't think I've ever seen the computer use a machine gun on
infantry while they still have ammo for their main weapon.
I haven't quite finished the game yet, but I must say that my favorite
mission so far is the border fight one where you must last for 12 turns. I
love using the long range artillery in that mission and just laying waist
to the t-80 tanks. I actually beat all of the enemy units on that mission
and got an S ranking. [Mission 10: Border Dispute]
AirborneAce:
My fav is the one where you fly cover for yellow's troops so they can
capture the capital and you get all the Spookys and Warthogs. [Mission 24:
Entrenched]
jvgf:
My favorite mission though I wish it were larger scale is Beachhead...love
me some amphibious assaults :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Least Favorite Mission?
-----------------------
Tyrannical:
I hated the sink all green supply ships and blow up all tanker trucks.
Red army has quite a few choppers and you really are lacking anti-air
units. Most of your navy can't move and shoot air units except with the
ship's cannons. Those three Russian carriers are quite powerful anti-ship
/ anti-air units also. [Mission 18: Boa Strike]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random Thoughts On the Matter of AI
-----------------------------------
Tyrannical:
Enemies move semi-randomly
Meaning, I've saved a game and ended my turn. Watched an enemy move a
unit. Reload and end turn, enemy moved in a totally different direction.
In this particular case the enemy I was watching had not detected me, or
any of my units for that matter.
Everyone has probably already noticed this though :) So there will be no
step by step walk throughs like there was in Advanced Wars.
prayerwarrior:
Hey why doesnt the computer spend all the money it has at the beginnig or
during the game. it seems that at the end when I am closing the noose is
when it spends wildly and all I do is sit back and destroy the expensive
units as they are purchased.
i have noticed this twice specifically once on the washington map and now
on the USA map. if it would get those better units midgame it could have
changed the course of the war
SemperFi:
At higher AI levels the computer will buy the better units earlier on.
I've also noticed that the computer at lower levels will only buy the
expensive units after it's reserve funds hit a certain mark.
For example, the computer will build the better range of fighters and
helicopters if it has in excess of x amount of dollars.
Though the reserve marker seems to be much lower for the higher level AI
as they tend to build more high quality units right out of the gate.
prayerwarrior:
Yes I can recall that. I guess, I just wish that it would see what was a
major battle and buy then instead of when it either has money. Because it
would just push me harder.
But we all the world from things. Of course if I could never win I would
be actually upset
Thanks for the reply
SemperFi:
Yeah, it's a fine line between making the computer "too easy" and "tto
hard". I'm glad that it seems to have found that in between area. The
other thing is that I'm glad the computer doesn't seem to have the ability
to "cheat" coded in. Meaning that resource and supply wise, the human is
on equal footing. Unlike some games like Civilization.
prayerwarrior:
I never realized that about civilzation i always thought the computer was
just playing better and using the resources better. And I would stop
playing after a while because I was so frustrated.
But I love how this game and how much it has taught me.
SemperFi:
Yeah, production wise in Civilization, the AI get a huge boost. If you
turn on accelerated production, it's even more ridiculous. The whole trick
is to get, hold and prevent resources from being acquired by the AI. IF
you can keep them away, technology wise you can win any war. Sadly, the AI
seems to have this strategy programmed in.
Anyhow, back on topic. I agree. This game has a great learning curve that
leaves more than enough for the hardcore strategist while keeping it
accessible to the less savvy. My friend is getting quite good at this
game, despite not having as much under his belt strat game wise. The AI
has also humbled me a few times but in a good way. It reminds me that Turn
Based isn't dead and RTS still has a gew things to learn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ON UNITS
--------
=== Nimitz
goarmy956:
Ok, you people dont know what the nimitz can do... First off all, in RL,
those choppers wont get near the carrier b/c of its escorts. Even if they
do, all missiles on any chopper are so small they cant do much damamge to
a carrier. Second of all, all modernized carriers (which basically means
ALL U.S. carriers) are now armed with atleast four seawizzes. For you
non-militarybrats or non-navy personnel, those are basically a 20mm
gatling gun (i think its a vulcan) with a radar on top of it, designed to
shoot down incoming MISSILES and PLANES (which include choppers). Those
things can shoot far enough to outrange the weapon systems of the best
choppers. Yeah, theres no possible way any chopper can take down a
carrier. It takes around 5 well place HARPOON antiship missiles to take
town a carrier, more if the seawizzes take them down. Oh well, this is
still a great game...
=== Tank Destroyers
whitewolf84:
What do you use them for?
I've yet to figure out an effective use for tank destroyers,as they don't
have a high combat survivalbility rate.In the missions where they are
provided I used them to take out severely damaged tank units and lighter
vehicles(like AA and recon vehicles).
So,what are tank destroyers there for,since they aren't really doing a
good job at destroying tanks when I use them.
SiO4:
I pretty much use them for the same thing you do... IE:Hit a weakened
opponent.. I think they can move a bit farther then a lot of units, as
well. I will also pump a few out, if I am low on funds..
But they are not really integral to the way I play. Umm.. I think TD's can
go over rivers so that is a plus.
easphinx:
Tank destroyers are actually pretty useful for damaging enemy tanks,
especially TD's which have range. Just put them behind your MBT's for
protection.
TD's are cheap, most fast, and do decent damage, these factors combine to
make them an effective anti-tank unit.
- Destruction of Facilities/Bridges, Engineer Units
- USMC
-
===============================================================================
FREE PLAY MAP LIST (D7FREEP)
===============================================================================
No. Map Name Rank # of Armies
------------------------------------------------
001. Novice Commander 2LT 2 Armies
002. Small Isle 2LT 2 Armies
003. Southern Ocean 2LT 2 Armies
004. The Propeller 2LT 3 Armies
005. Green Isle 2LT 4 Armies
006. Triangle Island 2LT 4 Armies
007. Spectacle Island 1LT 2 Armies
008. Wanderton Straits 1LT 2 Armies
009. Dunes and Jungles CPT 2 Armies
010. Old Sea CPT 2 Armies
011. Crab Archiplago CPT 2 Armies
012. Iceland CPT 3 Armies
013. Survival Basin CPT 3 Armies
014. Wave Rush CPT 3 Armies
015. Great Wall CPT 3 Armies
016. Winter War CPT 4 Armies
017. Strategic Flying MAJ 4 Armies
018. Madagascar Marauders MAJ 4 Armies
019. Noto Revenge MAJ 2 Armies
020. Okinawa War MAJ 2 Armies
021. Mountain Breakthrough MAJ 2 Armies
022. Factional Warfare MAJ 3 Armies
023. Ozero Beloe MAJ 3 Armies
024. Kaleidoscope MAJ 3 Armies
025. Hyperborean MAJ 4 Armies
026. Fuel Conservation MAJ 4 Armies
027. Glacial Moraine MAJ 4 Armies
028. Kalimantan Jungles MAJ 3 Armies
029. Sumatra Tiger LTC 3 Armies
030. Gulf of Thailand LTC 3 Armies
031. Red Bear COL 4 Armies
032. King's Mountain LTC 3 Armies
033. Pax Romana BG 3 Armies
034. Triumvirative LTC 3 Armies
035. Seek the Oases LTC 4 Armies
036. Armada LTC 4 Armies
037. Fire Prairie LTC 4 Armies
038. Fight for America COL 3 Armies
039. The Sea of Japan COL 3 Armies
040. Struggle for Power COL 3 Armies
041. Operation Breeze COL 3 Armies
042. Operation Storm COL 3 Armies
043. Four Kingdoms COL 4 Armies
044. Top of teh World COL 4 Armies
045. Troubled Times BG 3 Armies
046. Tigris and Euphrates BG 4 Armies
047. Japan Reverse BG 4 Armies
048. Invader Tactics BG 4 Armies
049. Fortress LTC 4 Armies
050. Four Leaf Clover BG 4 Armies
051. Desert Labyrinth BG 4 Armies
052. The Yellow Sea MG 3 Armies
053. Battle Creek MG 3 Armies
054. Whitewater MG 4 Armies
055. Moon Attacks LTG 3 Armies
056. Rorscach LTG 4 Armies
057. 4 Land War BG 4 Armies
058. Sea Maze LTG 4 Armies
059. Trickster GEN 3 Armies
060. Blue Bridge GEN 4 Armies
Mission Mode Maps
-----------------
061. Island Campaign MAJ 2 Armies
062. Training Exercise 2LT 2 Armies
063. Capturing Facilities 2LT 2 Armies
064. Crescent Bridge 2LT 2 Armies
065. Merchant Defense 1LT 3 Armies
066. Southern Reef Forces 2LT 2 Armies
067. Attack from the Deep 2LT 2 Armies
068. Forest Stronghold 2LT 2 Armies
069. Vermillion Keys 1LT 2 Armies
070. Hot and Cold 2LT 2 Armies
071. Border Dispute 2LT 2 Armies
072. Hotsands Offensive 1LT 3 Armies
073. Sea Monster 1LT 2 Armies
074. Lost World 1LT 4 Armies
075. Black Gold 2LT 2 Armies
076. Snow-shell 1LT 2 Armies
077. Search for Hope 2LT 3 Armies
078. Arctic Rescue 2LT 2 Armies
079. Boa Strike 2LT 3 Armies
080. Crimson Revolt 2LT 3 Armies
081. Scarlet Breakout 1LT 2 Armies
082. Aim for Power CPT 2 Armies
083. Golden Citadel 1LT 2 Armies
084. The Beachhead 1LT 3 Armies
085. Entrenched CPT 3 Armies
086. Day of Revolution GB 4 Armies
Bonus Maps
----------
087. Total War 2LT 3 Armies
088. Military Tactics 2LT 4 Armies
089. Small World 2LT 4 Armies
090. Contest for Europe 2LT 4 Armies
091. Silk Road 2LT 4 Armies
092. Tokyo Desert 2LT 4 Armies
093. Battle of Awaji 2LT 2 Armies
094. Penghu Islands 2LT 2 Armies
095. Book of War 1LT 4 Armies
096. Cuban Dawn 1LT 3 Armies
097. Battlefield Isle CPT 3 Armies
098. Ice-run CPT 4 Armies
099. Shogun Rescue CPT 4 Armies
100. The Facts MAJ 4 Armies
101. End of the World MAJ 2 Armies
102. Survivor MAJ 3 Armies
103. Rabbits Way LTC 4 Armies
104. Sea vs. Air LTC 2 Armies
105. Election LTC 4 Armies
106. Economic Superpower BG 4 Armies
107. World Chaos BG 4 Armies
108. Kursk BG 4 Armies
109. Aspirations LTG 4 Armies
110. Jungle Commando LTG 4 Armies
111. Battle of Aomori GEN 4 Armies
112. Tutorial 2LT 2 Armies
113. Kemco LTG 3 Armies
114. El Alamein LTC 2 Armies
I am playing as China vs Japan on the southern ocean free play mode. I
have the computer(japan) set as normal.
I find China very weak in this game. There SPH units are not move+fire and
all their tanks are only firepower 3 cannons. They get one firepower 4
unit that is weak at defense. The MRLS china units are short range(3) and
their helicopters just don't seem to have that big of a punch.
Can anyone give me a China strategy that I can beat the computer with?What
unit combinations or matchups work best?
I am 39 turns into my game and am slowly losing ground against the
firepower 4 tanks of japan and their SPH units. I think defeat is
inevitable or at least have to start over. I just can't find the right mix
of units to take ground.
Devious Penguin responds:
What unlockables do you have? Try attack choppers and mobile artillery in
quanity. The Chinese benefit in the game is cheap price so swamp them if
you have to, Try a human wave attack. They'll run out of ammo sooner or
later.
DoubleTap offers:
I had an initial problem on this map as well. Loading up on artillery and
motorized infantry seems to help ALOT. I love trucks; you can capture alot
of the neutral cities on this map in a hurry.
smaug_the_dragon says:
I ran into the same problem you're having. This is what I did that worked.
1. Stay ahead of Japan in captured cities, never let them get ahead. they
got ahead of me by ten cities at the most. To stay ahead, use assault
choppers and/or IFVs to capture the cities in the northwest part of the
board.
2. Make a feint one way to invite a response, but send the bulk of your
attack towards the northwest where all the cities are. Your objective
there should be to either control those two airfields, or make it so the
Japanese can not control and secure them. The place in question is that
mountain range where your path to their capitol either forks northwest or
northeast. Feint to the north east but send the bulk to the northwest. The
northeast is narrow, where the bulk of his forces can be traffic jammed in
a bottle-neck. Also, in that position you will have easy access to your
cities for resupply.
3. Upon coming close to the 50 unit limit, buy Badger bombers. Your land
forces cannot hold up to the Japanese in direct action. But, you can use
Badgers to knock out the tanks. I used cheap tak destroyers in reserve,
but used them to do sneak attacks on their mobile artillery. The Badgers
did really well at taking out the tanks. I had no other answer for those
tanks. When the bombers had to be resupplied, I sent helicopters after
their supply transports. If they had no cities close by and no resupply
vehicles, the Japanese had to retreat, irregardless of how much of my
stuff they blew up.
This took me 95 turns to do it. After a month of play, I could probably do
it in 50 -60 turns. Hope that helps.
These codes are not saved and must be re-entered after re-boot. You can save a
mid game save of any of the maps you open though and load that save without
entering the code. Thanks to UglyDuck for that tidbit.
These must be entered deliberately. Speed isn't much of an issue, pace yourself
otherwise they won't work correctly. Should they work you'll see a message at
the bottom of the screen regarding the unlocking of the extra:
These codes are to be entered at the MAIN MENU.
L = Left on D-pad
R = Right on D-pad
B = Black button
W = White button
X = X Button
XWRRRBRRRRX Doug's Map (Doug was the lead tester at Kemco)
Opens the El Alamien Map in Free Play *new game*
XWRRRBRRRLX Robert's Map (Robert was a tester at Kemco)
This is the "Kemco" map also in Free Play mode.
XWWWBBBLRLX All Free Play Maps
XLLLBBBRWX Instantly Win FREE PLAY MAP
In mid-game choose "End Turn" whilst holding
the WHITE button in order to end the mission
immediately and successfully.
XBWLRBWRLX Extra Ammo
Doubles carried ammo in mission mode.
XLLWWBWLRBWRLX Extra Ammo
Doubles carried ammo in Free Play mode.
XWWLLWBRLWBLRX Extra Endurance 1 - Free Play
Is only enabled when the unit is PROD (Produced) at a
facility (i.e. for the most part, Free Mode, and does
NOT add Endurance to units alreay afield).
XWBRLWBLRX Extra Endurance 2 - Mission Mode
This Extra Endurace code works only in Mission Mode
XBBWWRLWBX Unlocks all RECON units
(That is, if you haven't already done this by playing
through Mission Mode).
XBLBLBLWRWX View Credits
Enter the code then back out of menu whilst holding WHITE
on controller 1. This Code must be re-enabled each time
you want to see it and you can't skip it.
XLRRRBRWRLRX Jump to Any Mission
After inputting this code press and hold WHITE on
the controller when selecting NEW GAME.
XLRLRBBWWX Eliminate Fog of War (See All Units)
All units are visible on the map. No Fog Of War. I'm
not sure if the computer still obeys rules of FoW tho.
This only works in Mission Mode and only when you start
a mission anew (any mission, even a loaded one).
XLLLBBBRWX Instantly Win Mission
After inputting this code, whist playing a Mission Mode
game, press and hold the WHITE button when ending your
turn. You will instantly beat that mission.
XLLRRLRWBLX Individual Unit Reload
On the Unit List, click the right thumbstick on the
unit you wish to reload.
XBBBLLLWRWX Unlocks ALL Units (for use in Free Play)
These cheats and where they can be used:
FP New FP Load Mis Load Mis New
Doug's Map X X - -
Robert's Map X X - -
All Free Play Maps X X - -
Instantly Win Mission - - X X
Instantly Win FP Map X X - -
Extra Ammo - - X X
Extra Endurance 1 X X - -
Extra Endurance 2 X X X X
Unlocks Recon Units X X - -
View Credits - - - -
Jump To Any Mission - - - X
No Fog Of War - - X* X
Instantly Win MIssion - - X X
Reload Cheat X X X X
Unlocks All Units X X - -
*Only if you load a level from turn 0 (i.e. the mission briefing).
Who knows what other codes might be lurking under the hood of this magnificent
game!
UNLOCKABLE UNITS
----------------
The following units are unlocked by successfully completing the noted mission:
UNLOCKABLE MAPS
---------------
The following Free Play maps are unlocked by successfully completing the noted
mission:
Map Name Mission to Complete
Tutorial Tutorial
Training Exercise Mission 1
Capturing Facilities Mission 2
Crescent Bridge Mission 3
Merchant Defense Mission 4
Southern Reef Forces Mission 5
Attack From the Deep Mission 6
Forest Stronghold Mission 7
Vermillion Keys Mission 8
Hot and Cold Mission 9
Border Dispute Mission 10
Hotsands Offensive Mission 11
Sea Monster Mission 12
Lost World Mission 13
Black Gold Mission 14
Snow Shell Mission 15
Search For Hope Mission 16
Arctic Rescue Mission 17
Boa Strike Mission 18
Crimson Revolt Mission 19
Scarlet Breakout Mission 20
Aim for Power Mission 21
Golden Citadel Mission 22
The Beachhead Mission 23
Entrenched Mission 24
Day of Revolution Mission 25
25 More Bonus Maps Mission 25
Kemco Special Button Code (See "Button Codes" above)
El Alamein Special Button Code
EXPLOITS
--------
Exploits are ways to use the game's built in systems to your advantage. They
aren't cheat codes or bugs. Instead these are ways to take advantage of the way
that the game is built. These might spoil the game for you or they might enhance
your gaming experience. Use them at your discretion.
An old standard: Save and Load and Re-load
------------------------------------------
Combat results are somewhat randomized. That means attacking unit B with unit A
will have different results based on how much beer you have in the fridge, the
number and size of sunspots, and your horoscope. You can use this and the fact
that you can save at any time (during your turn) to your advantage.
The idea is simple. Save the game just before moving a unit and attacking.
Should you not get results that you can live with simply re-load that save and
try it again. Keep doing this until you are satisfied with the outcome of the
combat. Should you get exceptional results be sure to save the game again so you
can prepare your next attack.
A good result in a few combats can change the tide of battle. On the one hand
this is cheap, on the other hand it IS war.
Twenty Is Not Enough - Launching more that 20 saved units in Free Mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
by Wonderful Experience
As you might know, the game allows you to store up to 20 units per country in
Free Play mode. This means you can bring battle hardened units that have
levelled up in one map into another map. Here is a way to get around that 20
unit limit:
1. Play a map and level up those units you'll want to bring into the next fight.
2. Save that game just before you take the enemy's capital. (Save A)
3. Take the enemy's capital to win the game
4. Save 20 of your levelled up units.
5. Start your next map and after you've launched the 20 saved units into the
field save your game. (Save B).
6. Load "Save A"
7. Beat Save A's map again and save 20 more units (the same ones or different
ones, it doesn't matter).
8. Load "Save B"
9. You can now launch 20 more saved units onto the field.
You can save/reload/launch as many times as you'd like and use limitless numbers
of levelled up units (well, up to 50).
*****************
WARNING SPOILERS: These codes are not undoable. One they are entered they are
saved. In order to reset them you'll need to throw away your save file, mission
progress, etc.
You will NOT get these units any other way. All of them are reasonable except
the ***Cyber Ninja*** which will spoil the game if actually used. I've never
seen the computer create a Cyber Ninja unit but its presence might annoy you if
you are going for realism.
*****************
Enter the following codes at the PassCode menu item on the main menu to unlock
the following units.
746C-3BBA-E396-9AFD AH-1S Cobra (D7) (Attack Heli)
3D9A-D404-70E9-0162 AH-1S Cobra(WT) (Attack Heli)
81FE-5327-CAD7-6500 AH-1W Super Cobra (Attack Heli)
C554-D619-C0C7-33A9 Cyber Ninja (Special Forces)
F4A3-6507-A7E5-E9CD Type 60 SPRR(WT) (Tank Destroyer)
0993-4841-852E-14F9 Type 61 MBT(WT) (Tank)
5285-2318-09F4-1DDC Type 74 MBT(D7) (Tank)
6289-0549-0DF1-A797 Type 74 MBT(WT) (Tank)
8399-71B4-500A-500A Type 87 SPAAG(WT) (Anti Aircraft Gun)
B50A-6C45-CB7B-F94E Type 90 MBT(D7) (Tank)
A124-2DC3-D9A6-D4F9 Type 90 MBT(WT) (Tank)
===============================================================================
UNIT TYPES
===============================================================================
A full list of units is found at the end of this document however here we'll
discuss the merits of each unit type. This first section is an adaptation of
what is to be found in the game's manual:
Unit Types Descriptions
Interceptor - Suited for air defense if used to intercept enemy air units. These
units are typically capable of ONLY Air to Air combat.
Fighter - The star of aerial battles with plenty of weapons. It is key to
defeating enemy air units. These units are capable of having an anti-ground
loadout.
Multi-role - With different equipment options, it can be used for either air or
ground battles.
AVERAGE TOTAL FIREPOWER PER UNIT TYPE PER COUNTRY
(Package 1 and/or Combined Packages, rounded to nearest whole)
(-: no units of that type, 0: has units but no attack)
===============================================================================
UNIT REFERENCE LISTS
===============================================================================
If there are any other sub lists that you'd like to see here let me know. Thanks
in advance :)
=====================
CAPTURE CAPABLE UNITS
===============================================================================
Here is a list of units in the game that are capable of capturing facilities.
It's critical to know which units on the field have such capabilities,
particularly in Free Mode. Often you'll want to protect these units with
everything you've got in Mission mode since you don't have Build capabilities in
most missions.
Assault Helicopters IFVs
------------------------- -------------------------
UH-1J - Japan Type 89 IFV - Japan
UH-60 Black Hawk - USA LAV-25 - USA
Mi-17 Hip H - Russia M2 Bradley IFV - USA
UH-1 Iroquois - Germany BMP-3 - Russia
Lynx AH9 - UK BTR-T - Russia
SA-330 Puma - France Marder A3 - Germany
UH-60 Yanshuf - Israel Warrior - UK
Mi-17 Hip H - China AMX-10P - France
Zhi-9 - China Type 86 IFV - China
APCs Infantry
------------------------- -------------------------
Type 73 APC - Japan Infantry - All
Type 96 APC - Japan Paratroopers - All
M113A3 - USA Cyber Ninja - Japan
BTR-80 - Russia Special Forces - All
M113 APC - Germany
TPz-1 Fuchs 1 - Germany
FV432 - UK
Saxon - UK
VAB - France
Achzarit - Israel
M113 Bardehlass - Israel
Type 85 APC - China
Type 92 - China
====================
SUPPLY CAPABLE UNITS
===============================================================================
KC-135 Stratotanker -- USA
Il-78 Midas -- Russia
Tristar K1 -- UK
KC-135FR Stratotanker -- France
KC-130H Karnaf -- Israel
Support Tanker -- All
CVN-68 Nimitz -- USA
Admiral Kuznetsov -- Russia
Charles de Gaulle -- France
Invincible -- UK
Oosumi -- Japan
LHD-1 Wasp -- USA
LPD-17 San Antonio -- USA
Ivan Rogrov -- Russia
Lun -- Russia
Albion -- UK
Foudre -- France
Yuting -- China
Supply Ship -- All
====================
MOST EXPENSIVE UNITS
===============================================================================
Just for kicks, here are all of the units costing $5000 and over to build.
SSN-21 Seawolf - USA 10000 Sub
Cyber Ninja - Japan 9600 Special Forces
CVN-68 Nimitz - USA 9000 Carrier
SSN-774 Virginia - USA 9000 Sub
Astute - UK 9000 Sub
Severodvinsk - Russia 8000 Sub
DD-21 Zumwalt - USA 7000 Destroyer
B-2 Spirit - USA 6000 Bomber
Admiral Ushakov - Russia 6000 Cruiser
Admiral Kuznetsov - Russia 6000 Carrier
Trafalgar - UK 6000 Submarine
FB-22 - USA 5000 Attack Aircraft
CG-47 Ticonderoga - USA 5000 Cruiser
Darling (Type 45) - UK 5000 Destroyer
Charles de Gaulle - France 5000 Carrier
Rubis - France 5000 Submarine
With Dai Senryaku VII being such a text intensive game it's no surprise that a
few errors will creep in here and there. In this section we'll try to point out
those errors so that if you run into them in-game you'll see what they are
really supposed to be though in most cases the errors are minor and the answer
is usually obvious.
In the Unit Info screen the stat "Eudur" should read "Endur"
---
In the Unit Chart, China's 152mm Towed is actually listed as 155mm Howitzer
Towed. It does however deploy to a 152mm.
---
In Free Play, you can set whether the computer or a player controls a particular
country at just about any time. One of the choices to do so reads "Com (Easy))"
It in fact has an extra parenthesis on it.
----------
Manual Shortcomings and Errata
----------------------------------
It's rare that any game's manual is actually a thorough description of a game.
Dai Senryaku VII's manual is no exception. Here are some of the things that were
either left out or are incorrect.
---
Omission: They didn't really describe the in-game options...while most make
sense, one in particular needs some help and that one is:
Free Play->System Menu->Options->Display
The Map Cursor Option has two choices: Current Place and Back to Capital.
This controls where the map cursor goes when your turn starts. It might make a
difference when you are playing 2 player and the other player has to leave the
room while you perform your turn.
---
HighIQ says:
If you set resupply to auto or ask you have no problem but if you set it
to manual. There doesn't seem to be anyway to resupply planes onboard
carriers. You can't get resup as an option, least I can't figure it out if
you can.
and Darkwing105 responds with:
I also had the same problem. The way I bypassed this was to go into the
Unit list, find the units to supply on the carrier, select it, then select
resupply.
I hope there is an easier way, but so far, that is the only way I have
found to do this.
---
SiO4 makes mention:
On page 33 there is a misalignment of "Help & Level-up" chart.. In mine,
anyway..
and jvgf responds:
Yep, it appears this is a problem in many if not all Dai 7 manuals.
---
TheVoid00 says:
The manual (or the tutorial) doesn't mention anything about the rankings
you get when you finish the mission. I mean it's logical to assume that A+
is better than a B, but there's no chart to see what's at the top and
what's at the bottom.
And jvgf responds:
Indeed, there's no clear indication of what exactly nets you the highest
rank however it should be assumed that being best in all categories as
tallied up at battle end will net you the higher ranks. here is a list of
the ranks (without the +'s and -'s as they should be obvious:
S Rank Best
A+ Rank Great
A Rank Very Good
A- Rank
B+ Rank
B Rank
B- Rank
C+ Rank
C Rank Average
AAG - Anti Aircraft Gun
AEW - Airborne Early Warning
AH - Attack Helicopter
APC - Armored Personnel Carrier
ASM - Air to Surface missile
ASW - Anti Sumbarine Warfare, Anti Surface Warfare
ATACMS - Army Tactical Missile System
ATGW - Anti Tank Guided Weapon
CFV - Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
CG - Cruiser (Naval)
DD - Destroyer (Naval)
DDG - Guided Missile Destroyer
IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle
LAV - Light Armored Vehicle
MBT - Main Battle Tank
RCV - Recon Vehicle
SAM - Surface to Air Missle
SP - Self Propelled
SPAAG - Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Gun
SPH - Self Propelled Howitzer
SPSAM - Self Propelled Surface to Air Missile
Terms
----------
Capital - Each army has one capital city. Capturing an enemy's capital city
defeats that enemy. A captial city can produce any ground based unit, it an
produce those units in it's hex or any of the six surrounding hexes with
compatible terrain.
Repair - Each unit consists of from 1 to 10 sub-units. Each of these sub-units
has a number of damage points it can take before it is eliminated. When all of a
units sub-units are eliminated the unit itself is eliminated. Repair is when a
unit replenishes it sub-units. Units can be repaired on Cities and Captials.
Supply - As units fight and move they expend ammunition and fuel. A unit's
ammunition and fuel supply is known as its "Supply". Both fuel and ammunition
can be replenished at cities, captials, and with supply vehicles.
Towed - Some artillery units must be towed to a location before they can be set
up to fire. When an artillery piece is in "towed" form it is ineffective as
artillery. An artillery unit can fire the turn after it goes from Towed to
Deployed.
Mega-Attack - Some units are capable of attacking not only a single hex, but
also the six hexes surrouding the target hex. This is a mega-attack.
===============================================================================
REALLY USEFUL LINKS (well, some of them, anyway)
===============================================================================
Reference Sites
---------------
www.fas.org - Site with TONS of information on weapons systems.
www.nasog.net - Site with lots of information on weapons systems.
www.globalsecurity.org - More data, has popup ads though.
www.globalaircraft.org - Yet more data.
Daisenryaku Game Sites
----------------------
www.kemcogames.com - forum there specifically for Dai Senryaku VII.
www.gamefaqs.com - also has a Dai Senryaku VII forum.
Reviews of Dai Senryaku VII
---------------------------
www.jvgfanatic.com/daisenryaku7 (my review)
www.bonusstage.com/art1908.htm
www.eglive.com/?view=article&article=611
xbox.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r24658.htm (warning, site has popups)
reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/878/Dai-Senryaku-VII-Modern-Military-Tactics/p1/
I'd like to thank the following folks for their assistance in putting this faq
together. Quite honestly it was a lot of work and without their help and
inspiration I can't imagine getting through it.
Wonderful Experience - The first Dai Senryaku VII player I dialoged with
contributed bits and pieces, you'll see him credited.
Engi Kizuato - for some of the military acronyms and for being patient by
waiting for me to finish this faq before playing Steel Battalion...now that I'm
mostly done with it...
Kemco - Thanks for bringing Daisenryaku VII over to the states. I was one week
away from modding my XBox just so I could play the Japanese version of the game
when I heard the news that this was coming over. Please bring more of the series
to US gamers' systems!
Douglas - Head of Kemco Quality Assurance. Really great guy who is very
attentive to customer support needs at the Kemco forums.
Akaimizu - Excellent writer, I stole much of his writing from the Gamefaqs
boards.
The folks at the gamefaqs.com Dai Senryaku VII message boards who have been a
great help at motivating me to write this faq. Specifically I'd like to mention
a few:
geelw - for some fantastic dialog. He knows his Daisenryaku series!
AirborneAce - Some great pre-game dialog. His anticipation was unmatched.
Slayzer78 - for a typo or two, or three...
LadyFox - also for her 'nitpicking' (in a GOOD way) the errors away!
TheVoid00 - who kept the boards hopping
ikancu - for humoring us all
LilBandit - Enthusiastic to the core
Rulkiewicz - his questions contributed to a good part of the FAQ portion
Icicle29 - also helped come up with some FAQs, a good writer to boot!
The Beastmaster - for more questions!
DON CHEEZEMAN - the same, but not as many questions as others, lol
DolemiteXP - for asking about the stats, w00tage question
Womackd - for looking for a comparison between this and other games
and last but not least
Red Orc - for preferring a less "Japanese" name :)
UglyDuck, Tyrannical, SemperFi, Joe Benet, TheVoid00 (again)
(many more I'm sure but hey, these are the folks that stand out in my memory
right now...)
All those that work for and play at JVGFanatic.com - Without these folks I
wouldn't be jvgfanatic! They are all good, nice folks. Videogaming just wouldn't
be the same without em.
And finally,
My wife and my son for putting up with my awful, awful habit of staying up until
2AM to work on this document...
===============================================================================
VERSION HISTORY
===============================================================================
Version .93 - Added some mission strategies thanks to the crazed gamers
at gamefaqs.
- Improved the TOC but not by much
- Added some commands I had forgotten about
- Added strategy by Joe Benet for Mission 2
- Added strategies by Lady Fox, TheVoid00, White Destiny
for Mission 1
- Added Errata
- Added some index links
- Various other stuff...
- Oh yeah, removed the unit list. You can find that
at gamefaqs in a separate document.
Version .91 - Added some "thanks"
- Improved the unit list
- Added Map Editor information
Version .9 - First Version Released
Email: jvgfanatic AT hotNOSPAMmail dot com (remove NOSPAM and punctuate
appropriately. BE SURE TO TITLE YOUR EMAIL "DAISENRYAKU" otherwise I will delete
it).
I can also be found on the Dai Senryaku VII boards at gamefaqs and my own boards
at jvg.hwyig.com. I do check the kemcogames.com boards as well.
