Advance Wars: Critical Character Comparison guide (v. 3.0)
by Uiru (
[email protected])
Created 10/31/01
The purpose of this guide is to clarify the vauge differences
between the individual Commanding Officers' (CO's) abilities. For
example, Sami has the best infantry, Grit is the master marksman and
Kanbei is good at everything. How do they stack up? Sami and Kanbei's
soldiers are actually the same strength, and Kanbei's long-range
attacks are superior to Grit's. However, then you get into the
details, like how Grit's CO Power cranks his shooter units far
past anything Kanbei could ever hope to accomplish. If you have not
gone through the Campaign Mode at least once, I suggest you do so
before reading, as there are many game and story spoilers ahead.
Table of Contents:
1. Updates <- updated :*
2. General Information
i. Hiring COs <- updated
ii. Activating CO Powers <- updated
iii. Terrain Defence
iv. Hire Sturm VS Campaign Sturm
v. Money
vi. The Final Battle! <- new
3. Commanding Officers
i. Andy
ii. Max
iii. Sami
iv. Olaf
v. Grit
vi. Kanbei
vii. Sonja
viii. Eagle
ix. Drake
x. Sturm
xi. Nell
4. Unit Information
i. Soldier class
ii. Direct class
iii. Long class
iv. Movement/Vision/Attack Range list
v. Weather Effects
5. Other Information
i. Health and Damage <- updated
ii. Damage Formula <- new
iii. Damage Chart
iv. Gold Menu Options <- new
v. Personal Records <- new
vi. How to Do Stuff <- new
Calculating Damage <- removed
6. Credits, legal
~1. Updates~
NOTE: The newest version of this FAQ can always be found at
gamefaqs.com. Please make sure you're reading the current version
before you EMail me. EMails regarding things that are answered in the
latest version will be ignored.
Apr. 9, 2002- Added lots of stuff, including the first version of the
Advance Wars Damage Formula. Fixed info on units taking
damage as their health falls.
Message -> I do believe that just about every topic that doesn't
relate to actual gameplay (and even some that do) has
been covered. Is there anything short of a Campaign/War
Room walkthrough guide I should research? EMail me if
you have any suggestions. (No, I'm not doing
walkthrough guides. :p)
Spam -> Check out my Design Maps FAQ at GameFAQs! :)
Apr. 6, 2002- Fixed Kanbei's CO Power limit.
Apr. 4, 2002- Bothered to upload FAQ. :p Put in a tiny bit on weather
effects and fuel consumption.
Mar. 22, 2002- Yet more data on CO Power Bars. Transport class
absorbed by Direct class (see Max).
Mar. 16, 2002- Put in much more data on charging CO Power bars.
Fixed the Money section.
Mar. 14, 2002- Nell added. More information on charging CO Power
bars added. Small section on money added. Added a bit
to the Legal section.
Dec. 13, 2001- Eagle and Sturm added. Unit information added. Guide
'cleaned up', some sections rearranged.
Dec. 8, 2001- Been a while. Changes have been made to unit class
rankings. A 'Battle Chart' has been added, as well
as information about determining the damage done while
considering a number of different variables.
Nov. 4, 2001- Fixed descriptions of Tsunami and Double Time. Begun
adding defencive stats. Added information on HP and
effects of weather on movement range.
Nov. 1, 2001- Added a few tidbits on Drake. Begun game again; will
have Eagle shortly.
Oct. 31, 2001- Began guide. Gathered a ton of information while
shelling out candy.
~2. General Information~
There are a few things you should know about how Advance Wars
operates before we get into the CO's.
First of all, all units can be classified into one of three classes-
Soldier, Direct, or Long. By land, by air or by sea, everything falls
into these comprehensive categories. Soldier class contains Infantry
and Mech. Direct is anything that can attack immediately after
moving; Tanks, Cruisers, Fighters, etc. Long is anything that has an
attack range. Battleships, Missiles, and Artillery are all Long
class.
Each character has a certain ranking in these three areas. All of
Max's Long units, for example, are weak, while all of his Direct
units are extremely strong. Though the game gives the impression
that it only affects tanks, Max's superior strength affects his Subs
and Bombers and everything else just as much as his Mid Tanks. This
is because they are all Direct. To keep things simple, the rankings
will be given as percentages, with Andy's ratings being 100%. Sami's
Soldiers are 120%, meaning they'll do 20% more damage than Andy's
corresponding Soldiers will do. Meanwhile, her Direct units are
90%. They'll only do 90% of the damage Andy's units can do. This
will allow you to easily compare the differing abilities of the
CO's. However, the CO's CO Power Bonuses are based off their own
rankings. Max's +24% is a 24% increase on 150%, for 186% the damage
Andy's tanks could do.
Unit attributes is another issue. Though several CO's units all move
the same way, there are a few differences. Drake's ships can all move
one space farther than all other CO's ships. Grit's Long class units
can shoot an extra space. These differences will be noted with the
characters and the general list will be included at the end of this
guide.
~i. Hiring COs~
It seems you can hire Kanbei simply by finishing Campaign Mode.
Drake or Eagle can be hired by using Andy or Sami (respectively) for
the four Green Earth missions. Getting Grit is as simple as using Max
on Mission 4. Sturm appears after purchasing everyone else (you don't
need to go through Campaign Mode again just for him).
(Thanks to
[email protected] for this intel.)
Meanwhile, Sonja can only be hired if you unlock her secret missions
during Campaign Mode. You have to finish Kanbei's missions on time to
do it; you don't have to A rank them as earlier reported. Beat the
first in 8 days, the second in 10 and the third in 12 and you should
be whisked off to the cutie's testing ground.
(Thanks to 'me budday' Fergo for the dates.)
Lastly, you can hire Nell by finishing Advance Campaign. You DO NOT
need to S-rank it and you DO NOT need to do any War Room missions
first. Just beat Advance Campaign and buy her for 80 coins. (I forgot
to take note of how much the other COs cost, but they range from 50
to 100.) You need Sturm to buy her.
~ii. Activating CO Powers~
Your CO Power can only be used when your CO Power Bar completely
fills. There are two ways to fill it; take damage and dish it out.
Taking damage fills it four times faster than dealing it.
What determines the rate of charge is the cost of the unit being
destroyed. Sonja, for example, has to lose $300 000 worth of HP
before her CO Power Bar fills. However, she has to destroy four times
that amount, or $1 200 000, to fill it up.
An example. Sonja loses ten full health Mechs to a sneak AA Gun
attack. 10 Mechs * 10 HP * 3000 per = $300 000. Enhanced Vision time.
However, in the next battle, she can destroy 10 Mechs belonging to
her opponent, but her bar will only fill by 25%. 40 Mechs * 10 HP *
3000 per = $1 200 000.
This, of course, assumes that the Mechs are destroyed in one hit.
Counterattacks are calculated just like regular attacks.
Interestingly enough, Grit's Fighters do 4 HP damage to Max's
Fighters, which do 4 HP back. The two will fully charge their CO
Power Bars at exactly the same time. Let's do some math.
It takes a loss of 15 HP worth of Fighter to charge a bar that
requires $300 000. Three of Grit's Fighters take 4 HP each from Max's
Fighters, and both CO Powers are ready. So, that's $240 000 accounted
for simply by counterattack. Now, the damage done is 4 HP to three of
Max's Fighters. Damage done is 1/4 as effective as damage taken, so
that's $240 000 / 4, which, conveniently enough, is $60 000. $240 000
+ $60 000 = $300 000; the limit of Max and Grit (and others).
However, keep in mind that it actually isn't the loss of the unit
that counts; it's the loss of the HP. Olaf can fill his bar by losing
10 full health Mechs, but losing 100 1 HP Mechs achieves the same
result.
Once your CO Power is activated, it resets to zero. The following
effects occur: Attack and Defence of the CO's units rises by 10%
unless otherwise stated in the CO's bio. Units that gain special
advantages flash; all units begin to glow. The CO Power Bar also
stops responding to unit loss. These effects last from the turn it
was used to the beginning of that player's next turn. (In short,
damaging a glowing unit will not charge the CO's Bar.) For maximum
effeciency, CO Powers are best used at the beginning of your turn,
with the exception of Eagle.
The following will NOT cause your CO Power Bar to charge:
1. Units carrying other units. If Kanbei loses a Lander that was
carrying two Mid Tanks, his bar will only register the loss of the
Lander.
2. Drake's Tsunami and Sturm's Meteor Strike will not charge bars.
3. Units sinking or crashing have no effect on the CO Power Bar.
4. Glowing units cannot charge a bar; whether by blowing things up
or being blown up themselves. Other CO's units can charge bars at
their expense, however.
After using your CO Power, the requirement to fill it up again rises
by 20%. Andy can use Hyper Repair after losing five Artillery, but he
has to lose six to use it again.
The monetary limits are as follows:
Sami: $250 000
Andy, Max, Olaf, Grit, Sonja, Nell: $300 000
Drake: $400 000
Kanbei, Eagle, Sturm: $500 000 (Kanbei uses his own prices)
Thanks to kikutaro for pointing out 'Kanbei's Error'. :D
~iii. Terrain Defence~
This guide frequently makes reference to 'Defence levels' or
'ratings'. A particular unit's defence at any particular time is
determined by two things; the terrain its standing on and the CO it
belongs to. Terrain, as you should have noticed by now, ranges from
zero to four stars in the game. Shoals and roads have none, forests
have two, mountains four, etc. Each star means the unit takes 10%
less damage than it normally would.
Examples are good. Assume that a regular, full health Infantry unit
is standing on the road, which has no stars (and thus, no defence
bonus) and a regular, full health Mid Tank comes up and blows the
snot out of it. 105%. (Beaches and bridges also offer no defencive
bonuses.) If that same Infantry unit had been standing on a plain,
it would have taken 94% damage instead (and stand a fair chance of
surviving the attack, albeit just barely). Plains and reefs have one
star. Forests have two stars. Infantry 'only' take 84% damage here.
Cities and bases have three, so it'd take 73% from that mean old Mid
Tank. And lastly, Headquarters and mountains have four stars, so
here, the unit would take 63% damage.
Another example is Mid Tanks. The progression from no stars to
four stars when attacking a regular Mid Tank with a regular Mid
Tank is: 55%, 49%, 44%, 38%, 33%. (By 'regular' I mean 'not Max,
not Kanbei, but Andy VS Andy'. Andy is always used as the 'other'
guy when testing units.)
Occasionally in this guide, you will see reference to 'automatic
defence levels'. Max has a -1 defence level on all his Indirect
units, so attacking one of his Rockets in a forest is just like
attacking one of Andy's Rockets on a plain. One or two defence
levels either way equals one or two stars that you don't see in
the game, but they do count when determining damage.
~iv. Hire Sturm VS Campaign Sturm~
While Sturm is available to be played in VS matches, his abilities
are staggeringly different. The Campaign Mode Sturm does 8 damage
with Meteor Strike, and has +20% Offence and -20% Defence- the
reverse of Hire Sturm. Could Hire Sturm be a modified clone of the
real Sturm? Or is Campaign Sturm the clone?
~v. Money~
You need money to buy new units. On maps without bases, money is
useless to you. You can get money by capturing properties. You get
$1000 per day for each property you own, including your HQ, cities,
and all production facilities.
I hadn't researched this section properly; special thanks to
[email protected] for beating me with the club of
understanding. As it turns out, the cost per HP recovered while
standing on a property is 1/10th the unit's price. I had used
Infantry, which is how I had arrived at 100 bucks per HP. Mechs would
cost 300 per, which means each damaged Mech you have could run you
600 bucks to heal. In addition, joining two damaged units that would
result in a HP of more than 10 actually makes you money. If you join
two Bombers that had 6 HP each, you get 2 HP's worth of money put
into your account- 4400. I never would have noticed that. ^_^;;
~vi. The Final Battle!~
The Final Battle! is, well, the final battle against Sturm. Your CO
is always Andy; however, any two COs other than Sonja, Nell, and
Sturm will team up and be yours to command. You're going to need
their help; Sturm has a huge initial force and a massive resource
bank.
Your teammates in The Final Battle! are determined by your actions
in Campaign Mode. Thanks to MegaSlime for this intel.
The left side will always be Blue Moon forces, and will be Olaf,
Grit or Max. The right side will be Green Earth forces unless it is
Kanbei, who will be Yellow Comet. Sami, Eagle and Drake appear here
as well.
Most players will wind up with Grit or Max on the left side;
choosing Max for the mission 'Max Strikes!' will give you Grit and
choosing Andy will give you Max. However, if you win the 'Olaf's
Navy!' mission by route (destroy all units) Olaf will appear instead.
The right side is determined by a few things. If you use Sami for
the four Green Earth missions, Eagle will appear no matter what. You
will also have to take part in the Andy VS Eagle mission 'Rivals!'
after The Final Battle!. Kanbei will appear if you make it to Sonja's
testing ground. Drake will appear if you DON'T make it to Sonja but
DO use Andy for the four Green Earth missions. If you don't achieve
any of these goals, you will get Sami.
Andy: Maybe it's just me, but Andy does more running away than
fighting until his teammates push Sturm into the mountains. This is
going to make S-ranking TFB! NC very difficult. ;_;
Max: Can you do simple math? What do you get when you add a +50% AT
bonus to a -20% DF cut? Max is probably one of the best teammates to
have in this mission. His Tanks are cheap and move well, so fill up
on them.
Sami: At first glance, Sami may seem a little underpowered, but
remember that her own +20% AT bonus on her Mechs is often enough to
wipe out Sturm's paper units in one shot. Although she isn't much for
points, Sami has the damn near foolproof plan of Mech Flood, which
will quickly give her a massive force and a huge bank balance to
match. Let her troops march all the way into the mountains before
moving west; this will draw Sturm's attention and give Andy an easier
time. Later in the mission, whip up some Fighters and Bombers to back
up her troops.
Olaf: I have yet to use Olaf in TFB!, but his hated CO Power is
theoretically very useful here. Sturm's 1 movement cost over
everything is ruined only by snow, which only Olaf can deliver.
However, it will slow down his allies as well. Since Olaf will always
be second, try to get Andy and your third member set up beforehand,
preferably with Rockets.
Grit: I often wind up with Grit, and it's taken a few tries to
figure out how to use him. Trying to force Rockets up onto the road
under the mountains is futile; Sturm's Tanks and B. Copters will get
them if Meteor Strike doesn't. A much better plan is to send
Artillery around behind Andy; this will back the lamer up and give
him some breathing room. Don't be afraid to get direct with Grit!
His Attack penalty is rendered null by Sturm's Defence chop, and AA
guns are greatly preferred to the awkward Missiles to deal with
annoying B. Copters.
Eagle: Lightning Strike Mid Tanks.
Drake: Drake is probably the most underrated team member for TFB!
(other than Olaf, but Olaf deserves it). People tend to bemoan his
lack of ports; what they forget is that Drake's ships are no stronger
than other ships. They are merely stronger defencively, which would
be rendered null by Sturm's offencive bonus. What Drake DOES have is
a solid offencive and defencive capability, and a CO Power that is
much more subtle than, but just as useful as anyone else's. Sturm
has literally dozens of units- that's dozens of HP taken out of
Sturm's hide with Tsunami. Sturm will then lose plenty of bling bling
trying to repair units, and may even retreat them, allowing you to
push upward. Troops on the field will be weakened, giving Andy and
co. a greater chance of critically injuring them next turn. And it'll
make Sturm's 2-day capture of new property a 3-day, giving Drake's
allies more time to stop him.
Kanbei: Kanbei has a nice Offencive bonus to tear Sturm a new one
with, and also has the highest Defence of the COs. However, his cost
is quite prohibitive since he has so few resources. Max is far better
as far as cost, strength, CO Power Bar charge speed, and movement
range go. I would rather any of the other three if I had Max on my
left, but Kanbei is a good CO to pair up with Grit.
S-ranking The Final Battle! is, naturally, very difficult.
Interestingly enough, it's harder to do in regular Campaign Mode than
Advance Campain. In the latter, all you have to do is win on time. In
regular Campaign, only Andy counts towards your score, so Andy has to
do all the killing while his partners weaken units and protect him.
~3. Commanding Officers~
~i. Andy~
Orange Star CO
Soldier Strengh: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Hyper Repair"
Hyper Repair restores two HP to every unit under Andy's command.
Note that the units' HP will not rise above ten. Hyper Repair is one
of the more useful powers, as it not only increases the longetivity
of Andy's units, but indirectly increases their power as well, as
higher HP means more damage done.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: Andy has no real cons.
CONS: He's a dork and I hate the sight of him.
~ii. Max~
Orange Star CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 150%
Long Strength: 90%
CO POWER: "Max Force"
Max Force greatly increases the power of Max's Direct units, and
gives them an extra movement space. This includes his Transports.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +24%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: Max is a brute and his Direct units can usually blow away
everything in their path, even without benefit of Max Force. Get that
on the go and let the tanks roll where they will.
CONS: Max's Long units leave much to be desired. Not only are they
weak, but their range is shorter than all other Long units. His
Artillery is pretty much useless as it can only attack units that
are exactly two spaces away. They also have an automatic defence
rating of -1.
ATTRIBUTE DATA: Max's Artillery, Rockets, Missiles, and Battleships
all have -1 on the outer value of their range. All of Max's Direct
units gain +1 movement during Max Force.
~iii. Sami~
Orange Star CO
Soldier Strength: 120%
Direct Strength: 90%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Double Time"
Double Time gives Sami's Soldier units a movement cost of 1 over any
kind of terrain (except Sea) and in any kind of weather, and also
increases their movement range by 1. Their strength is also
increased.
Soldier Bonus: +28%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: On top of being cute, Sami's Infantry and Mech units capture
bases 50% faster than any other CO's. Sami is the only CO who can
capture a property in two turns with less than perfect Health. They
are also tough defencively; they take 10% less damage than usual. Her
transport units can move an extra space as well.
CONS: Sami's Direct unit strength is a little poor.
ATTRIBUTE DATA: Sami's APC, Lander and Transport Copter units can
move an extra space. Her Infantry and Mech can move another space
under Double Time. Her Cruisers are not affected, even though they
can carry helicopters.
~iv. Olaf~
Blue Moon CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Blizzard"
Olaf makes it snow for a turn. This is not a popular ability; it's
really only useful for slowing your opponents down for one turn. It
will also hinder any of Olaf's teammates in VS or War Room battles.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: Olaf is not affected by snow, which increases the movement
cost for all other units by 1. It doesn't sound like much, but
several units, especially those on treads and tires, will be
practically immobilized by snow. And like Andy, he doesn't have any
offencive weaknesses.
CONS: Olaf is affected by rain moreso than the other CO's. However,
rain only affects his Infantry (not Mechs), ships, and planes.
Everything else is slowed down only as much as everyone else is
slowed down. I also find his music to be especially annoying.
~v. Grit~
Blue Moon CO
Soldier Strength: 80%
Direct Strength: 80%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Snipe Attack"
Snipe Attack increases the power and range of his Long class units
to disgusting levels.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +64%
PROS: Grit's longrange units have an extended range. When his CO
Power gets going, anything within range of his cannons is going down.
He also looks like an armed Newfoundland fisherman- he gets major
points for that.
CONS: Grit requires his CO Power to be truly effective. Both his
soldiers and his direct offencives are among the weakest in the game.
ATTRIBUTE DATA: Grit's Artillery, Rockets, Missiles, and Battleships
have an extra attack space. They gain two more spaces during Snipe
Attack.
~vi. Kanbei~
Yellow Comet CO
Soldier Strength: 120%
Direct Strength: 120%
Long Strength: 120%
CO POWER: "Morale Boost"
Morale Boost is like Max Force, only it works for everything. Does
this guy have a flaw?!
Soldier Bonus: +17%
Direct Bonus: +17%
Long Strength: +17%
PROS: Great at everything. Morale Boost gives every single one of
his troops yet another boost. Kanbei is also quite strong
defencively; assume that his units start with a defence rating of
two.
CONS: Interestingly enough, his units are 20% stronger than normal
units, and they cost 20% more as well. Infantry go for 1200, Mechs
for 3600, etc. This can get pricey. Cost for restoring HP is 20%
higher as well.
~vii. Sonja~
Yellow Comet CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Enhanced Vision"
All of Sonja's units can see farther in Fog of War. Units hidden in
forests and reefs can be seen.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: *swoon* I love Sonja! She's cute, sweet, smart, shy, a bit of
a nerd, and deadly lethal. What more do you want? Sonja has the
interesting ability to keep her units' HP hidden from her opponents
at all times. Though you can count the number of units remaining
during the animations (which I usually have turned off) you'll still
be left guessing. The HP of a unit can be extremely important, as a
Mech can finish off an Anti-Aircraft Gun, but if it's at high health,
the Mech will be slaughtered. Her units also have larger vision
ranges. And her music is so elegant and refined!
CONS: Sonja suffers from chronic bad luck. What this means is that
although Sonja's attack ratings are equal with those of Andy and Olaf
and the like, they will usually do less damage than the game says.
There are some cases where 103% isn't enough to finish off an
Infantry, for example. A good rule of thumb is to always round down,
and playing to the worst-case scenario means knocking 10% off the
value the game gives you. Sonja's CO Power and abilities are also
100% useless on maps without Fog of War. All it can do for you is
the very slight attack bonuses.
ATTRIBUTE DATA: Every single one of Sonja's units has +1 vision
range. It is increased by 2 more with Enhanced Vision.
~viii. Eagle~
Green Earth CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Lightning Strike"
This is evil. All of Eagle's non-Soldier class units that have
moved, attacked, or been ordered to Wait can move again. This
includes units that have just been produced in factories.
Soldier Bonus: -20%
Direct Bonus: -20%
Long Bonus: -20%
PROS: Eagle's aircraft are 15% stronger than normal aircraft, and
they consume much less fuel than normal. His Fighters and Bombers
use 3 units a day instead of 5 and his helicopters don't use any
(they normally use 2). They also have an automatic defence rating
of one star.
CONS: Eagle's ships do 20% less damage. During the turn after
Lightning Strike, Eagle's units take 30% more damage than usual.
~ix. Drake~
Green Earth CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Tsunami"
All enemy units take 1 HP damage, but will not destroy units
already at 1 HP. In Fog of War, Tsunami will show you the location
of everything on the map, although your units will still need intel
to be able to fire on them.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Bonus: +10%
Long Bonus: +10%
PROS: Not affected at all by rain, which happens frequently when
Drake is around. Also not affected any worse than any other CO in the
snow. His ships can move farther than your average CO's, and have an
automatic defence rating of two stars.
CONS: Drake's planes are 20% weaker than normal planes. To look at
it another way, assume that the enemy unit has two defence rating
stars when using his planes. You're probably better off keeping to the
seas.
ATTRIBUTE DATA: Battleships, Cruisers, Landers and Submarines all
have +1 movement range.
~x. Sturm~
Black Hole CO
Soldier Strength: 80%
Direct Strength: 80%
Long Strength: 80%
CO POWER: "Meteor Strike"
All units in a 5x5 cross lose 4 HP. Meteor Strike cannot be aimed
and will damage Sturm's own units. It seems to go after the highest
concentration of enemy forces, seeking to do the most damage it can.
Meteor Strike will not destroy units.
Soldier Bonus: +12%
Direct Bonus: +12%
Long Bonus: +12%
PROS: All units always have movement ranges of 1 over any kind of
terrain (that it could traverse in the first place- we aren't talking
Gold Chocobo style Mid Tanks running up mountains here). Is not
affected at all by rain, but is slowed down by snow just like other
COs. Every one of his units has an automatic defence rating of two;
just like Kanbei's.
CONS: VS Sturm requires much more strategy to be effective than
Campaign Mode Sturm would have. You cannot aim Meteor Strike,
meaning your opponent could try to divert it with a block of useless
Infantry just like you do in Campaign Mode. You cannot use Sturm in
War Room.
xi. Nell
Orange Star CO
Soldier Strength: 100%
Direct Strength: 100%
Long Strength: 100%
CO POWER: "Lucky Star"
Lucky Star increases the luck of her units. Attacking units will
occasionally do heavy damage. Defending units are not believed to be
affected.
Soldier Bonus: +10%
Direct Strength: +10%
Long Strength: +10%
PROS: Nell is well-rounded. :) She has no offencive or defencive
weaknesses. Her innate luck is pretty much exactly opposite Sonja's
luck- her units will almost always do rounded up damage, and
occasionally do 10% or 15% more. Unlike Sturm, you can use her in War
Room.
CONS: Nell is like a much hotter version of Andy, in that she
doesn't excel at anything. Her CO Power doesn't bestow god-like
offencive ability on her units; it's mainly chance that dictates
whether 27% takes off 8 HP. This sort of thing is not common. Nell is
more of a showpiece than a powerhouse.
~3. Unit Information~
This is the data on each of the 18 unit types in the game.
NAME
Cost: How much the unit costs to deploy.
Unit Type: Vehicles, Planes, Helicopters, Submarines, etc.
Traverses: Where it moves.
Movement Type: What it moves on. Tires, Treads, etc.
Movement Range: How many spaces it can move in one turn.
Vision Range: How far it can see in Fog of War.
Attack Range: For indirects only. How far the unit can shoot.
Fuel: The maximum capacity of fuel the unit holds.
Main Weapon: The main weapon. All main weapons have limited rounds.
Sub Weapon: Sub Weapons are limitless.
Description: A short description.
~i. Soldier Class~
INFANTRY
Cost: 1000
Unit Type: Inf
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Inf
Movement Range: 3
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 99
[Fuel (well, rations in this case) is consumed at a rate of one unit
per space. Land-based units do not use fuel when they aren't moving.]
Main Weapon: None
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: Cheap but almost useless in battle. Enough of them
could stop a Transport Copter or an indirect-attack unit, but their
only real purpose in life is to capture the HQ and divert Mid Tank
fire.
MECH
Cost: 3000
Unit Type: Inf
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Mch
Movement Range: 2
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 70
Main Weapon: Bazooka (3 rounds)
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: Effective against most land-based units. Can also
capture bases, but works best with an APC.
~ii. Direct Class~
MID TANK
Cost: 16000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Trd
Movement Range: 5
Vision Range: 1
Fuel: 50
Main Weapon: Cannon (8 rounds)
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: The strongest land-based unit. Mid Tanks can take a
ton of damage and keep dishing it out. Their only real concern is
indirect fire.
TANK
Cost: 7000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Trd
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 3
Fuel: 70
Main Weapon: Cannon (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: Cheaper and easier to move around than the Mid Tank,
but not as powerful. Still tough against bullets.
RECON
Cost: 4000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Tyr
Movement Range: 8
Vision Range: 5
Fuel: 80
Main Weapon: None
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: Very weak. Good only for recon during Fog of War, and
for attacking indirect fire units. They do a fair amount of damage
and have the ability to slip in under their attack ranges (most of
the time).
APC
Cost: 5000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Trd
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 1
Fuel: 70
Description: APCs do not engage other units. Instead, they are used
supportively. Their applications are threefold: one, they draw enemy
fire like you wouldn't believe. Two, they transport Soldier class
units to the HQ easily, and help take the heat off them by drawing
fire and blocking the way. Three, they have an endless supply of
fuel and ammo- any unit located next to an APC will get its fuel and
ammo reloaded. Interestingly enough, an APC cannot refill its own
fuel supply. Other APCs will top it up, however.
AA GUN
Cost: 8000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Trd
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 60
Main Weapon: Vulcan (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: AA Guns do heavy damage against Soldier and Long class
units, as well as aircraft. However, their weapons are just about
useless on tanks.
FIGHTER
Cost: 20000
Unit Type: Plane
Traverses: Air
Movement Type: Air
Movement Range: 9
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 99
[In addition to using one unit of fuel per space moved, Fighters
and Bombers use 5 per turn, even if they stay still. All other air
and ocean units use two per turn.]
Main Weapon: Missiles (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: Used to eliminate other air units. They're quite good
at this, but once the air units are gone, their only use is as
roadblocks.
BOMBER
Cost: 22000
Unit Type: Plane
Traverses: Air
Movement Type: Air
Movement Range: 7
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 99
Main Weapon: Bombs (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: Bombers are like Mid Tanks in that they annihilate
pretty much anything that gets in their way. The only thing that
can stop them from the ground is AA guns and Missile units, and
neither of these can take a shot from a healthy Bomber. Helpless
against Fighters, though.
BATTLE COPTER
Cost: 9000
Unit Type: Cptr
Traverses: Air
Movement Type: Air
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 3
Fuel: 99
Main Weapon: Missiles (6 rounds)
Sub Weapon: Machine Gun
Description: While not lethal against anything in particular,
Battle Copters can attack any unit type other than Planes, are
tough against machine gun bullets and aren't as expensive as
some other units.
TRANSPORT COPTER
Cost: 5000
Unit Type: Cptr
Traverses: Air
Movement Type: Air
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 2
Fuel: 99
Description: A transport-only unit, like the APC. Can carry one
Soldier class unit.
CRUISER
Cost: 18000
Unit Type: Ship
Traverses: Ocean
Movement Type: Shp
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 3
Fuel: 99
Main Weapon: Missiles
Sub Weapon: AA Machine Gun
Description: A modified Machine Gun allows Cruiser units to destroy
Copter units, as well as damage Planes. Crusiers can only fire on
Submarines, but they are the only units other than Subs that can
fire on them while they are submerged. Cruisers can also carry two
Copter type units.
LANDER
Cost: 12000
Unit Type: Ship
Traverses: Ocean
Movement Type: Trn
Movement Range: 6
Vision Range: 1
Fuel: 99
Description: A transport. Can carry two of any land-based unit.
SUBMARINE
Cost: 20000
Unit Type: Sub
Traverses: Ocean
Movement Type: Shp
Movement Range: 5
Vision Range: 5
Fuel: 60
[Subs use 5 units of fuel while submerged. They can't dive or rise
on the same turn that they attack. If a sub is underwater when
another sub tries to join with it, both will rise.]
Main Weapon: Torpedoes
Sub Weapon: None
Description: Can only fire on Ships and Subs, but their large
vision range and ability to hide underwater make them useful and
difficult to eliminate.
~iii. Long Class~
ARTILLERY
Cost: 6000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Trd
Movement Range: 5
Vision Range: 1
Attack Range: 2-3
Fuel: 50
Main Weapon: Cannon (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: While not as powerful as Rockets and with less range,
Artillery are easier to move and cheaper to produce.
ROCKETS
Cost: 15000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Tyr
Movement Range: 5
Vision Range: 1
Attack Range: 3-5
Fuel: 50
Main Weapon: Cannon (6 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: Rockets do much more damage to naval units than
Artillery can. They are tough to move off road.
MISSILES
Cost: 12000
Unit Type: Veh
Traverses: Land
Movement Type: Tyr
Movement Range: 4
Vision Range: 5
Attack Range: 3-5
Fuel: 50
Main Weapon: Missiles (6 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: Will severely weaken or destroy all air units,
however, they can't fire on anything else. Their Vision Range is
unusually high for a Long class unit.
BATTLESHIP
Cost: 28000
Unit Type: Ship
Traverses: Ocean
Movement Type: Shp
Movement Range: 5
Vision Range: 2
Attack Range: 2-6
Fuel: 99
Main Weapon: Cannon (9 rounds)
Sub Weapon: None
Description: The most powerful Long range unit is also the most
expensive, however, its worth it. It boasts good movement, the
largest attack range in the game, and the maximum alloted fuel
supply. As a ship, it is also very difficult to deal with sans Subs
or Bombers. It can fire on Land or Ocean units, and anything it hits
won't be happy about it.
~iv. Movement Ranges, Vision Ranges, Attack Ranges~
For reference, here is the basic data for all types of units in the
game. Refer to the CO Data to see if there are any differences.
Name / Movement / Vision / Attack
Infantry: 3 2
Mech: 2 2
Mid Tank: 5 1
Tank: 6 3
Recon: 8 5
APC: 6 1
Artil'ry: 5 1 (2-3)
Rockets: 5 1 (3-5)
Anti-Air: 6 2
Missiles: 4 5 (3-5)
Fighter: 9 2
Bomber: 7 2
B Copter: 6 3
T Copter: 6 2
Btl.ship: 5 2 (2-6)
Cruiser: 6 3
Lander: 6 1
Sub: 5 5
~v. Weather Effects~
These are the movement ranges over all terrain types, and how
weather affects them. For each column, the first number is Clear,
the second Rain and the third Snow. Remember that with increased
movement cost comes increased fuel consumption.
Terrain / Clear / Rain / Snow
Inf Mch Tyr Trd Trn Shp Air
Sea - - - - 112 112 112
Reef - - - - 222 222 112
River 222 111 - - - - 112
Mt. 224 112 - - - - 112
Road 111 111 111 111 - - 112
Brdg 111 111 111 111 - - 112
Plain 112 111 233 122 - - 112
Wood 112 111 344 233 - - 112
Airport, Base, City, Headquarters
111 111 111 111 - - 111
Shoal 111 111 111 111 111 - 112
Port 111 111 111 111 112 112 112
~4. Other Information~
~i. Health and Damage~
Up until now, all the percentages quoted in this guide have assumed
that the attacker is at full HP. But what happens if a unit is
damaged when it goes up against something? Interestingly enough, the
damage done falls in 10% increments as your HP goes down just as the
damage you do falls by 10% as the defence rating goes up.
On roads, a full health Mid Tank will do 55% damage to another Mid
Tank. At 8 HP, it will do 44%. 4 HP, 22%. 2 HP, 11%. See the
pattern? The damage done drops by 5.5% for each HP lost, which is
10% of the original damage. But keep in mind that the remaining HP
will have a factor in how much damage your unit takes back. If you
use a full health Mid Tank to knock a full health Mid Tank to 4 HP,
it'll do 4 HP's worth of damage back- 22%. The attacker always goes
first, so if it can destroy its target entirely, it'll get off scot
free.
This is why it's always a good idea to attack from the best defence
point possible. If you can run a Mech up a mountain to fire on a
Tank, the Mech will take much less damage than it would on the
ground. The Tank will take the same amount of damage no matter what,
but your Mech will be in much better shape.
~ii. Damage Formula~
Older versions of this FAQ stated that a damaged unit will take the
same damage no matter what its HP was. This is only partially
correct; as I ran the trials on roads, that had a 0 defence rating.
On anything with a defence rating, damage creeps up by small amounts
with each HP lost. Special thanks to
[email protected] for bringing
this to my attention (as well as everyone else who's written in).
I have come up with a tentative formula for this occurance. The way
this game does rounding is very strange; thus it may not be perfect,
but it will always be within just a few % of the actual value (if not
dead on; it usually works).
The formula is:
D = [(I * B / D) * (A * .1)] - R[(C * .1) - (C * .01 * H)] [%]
D = Damage done
I = Initial damage (Battle Chart number)
B = Attacker's CO Strength modifier (Sami's 120% Mechs, Eagle's
115% Bombers)
D = Defender's CO Defence modifier (Max's 90% Artillery, Drake's
120% Battleships)
A = Health of attacker (a unit at 3 HP would use 3)
H = HP lost by defender (a unit at 3 HP would use 7)
R = Defence rating
C = Real damage [(I * B / D) * (A * .1)]
If it looks complicated, remember... it is. If you wanted to
actually USE this formula, you'd have to take advantage of the Battle
Chart in my FAQ and use the CO's Strength and Defence ratings to get
the Real damage.
The defence rating used is based only on the stars shown in the
game. 'Automatic defence levels' are already accounted for in the
Real damage value. Kanbei's Mech on a Mountain is multiplied by 4
just like anyone else's Mech on a Mountain.
Examples:
Full math Max VS Kanbei example:
Max's Mid Tank at 4 HP attacks Kanbei's Rocket at 8 HP. The Rocket
is parked on a Port.
D = [(I * B / D) * (A * .1)] - R[(C * .1) - (C * .01 * H)]
D = [(105 * 150 / 120) * (4 * .1)] - 3[(C * .1) - (C * .01 * 2)]
D = (131.25 * .4) - 3[(52.5 * .1) - (52.5 * .01 * 2)
D = (52.5) - 3(5.25 - 1.05)
D = 52.5 - 3(4.2)
D = 52.5 - 12.6
D = 39.9 (game value = 38%)
Andy VS Andy examples (try out the formula for yourself):
An Infantry takes 95% damage from a Rocket on a road. If an Infantry
was at 6 HP on an Airport (def 3), however, it would take 78.5%. (The
actual game number would be 77%; this is due to rounding error.)
Another Infantry takes 110% damage from a Bomber on a road (def 0).
On a field (def 1) at 9 HP, however, it instead takes 100%.
A Battleship takes 75% from a Bomber in clear ocean (def 0). At 4 HP
in a reef (def 1), however, it takes 72%.
A Recon on a shoal (def 0) takes 55% from a B. Copter. In a forest
(def 2) at 2 HP, it takes 52%.
A Mech on a shoal (def 0) takes 75% from a B. Copter. In a mountain
(def 4), it takes 45%. At 6 HP on the mountain, it takes 57%.
~iii. Damage Chart~
This will give you an idea of how much damage your units will do. It
was done Andy VS Andy and on roads (no Defence Terrian bonus).
Remember that all damages are relative- as you can see, Andy's Mid
Tank does 105% to an Infantry. Max's Mid Tank would do 150% that
value, or 157%. Grit's Mid Tank would do 80%- 84%. You get the idea.
INFT MECH MTNK TANK RCON APC* ARTL RCKT AAGN
INFT 55% 45% 1% 5% 12% 14% 15% 25% 5%
MECH 65% 55% 15% 55% 85% 75% 70% 85% 65%
MTNK 105% 95% 55% 85% 105% 105% 105% 105% 105%
TANK 75% 70% 15% 55% 85% 75% 70% 85% 65%
RCON 70% 65% 1% 6% 35% 45% 45% 55% 4%
APC* X X X X X X X X X
ARTL 90% 85% 45% 70% 80% 70% 75% 80% 75%
ROKT 95% 90% 55% 80% 90% 80% 80% 85% 85%
AAGN 105% 105% 10% 25% 60% 50% 50% 55% 45%
MISL X X X X X X X X X
FIGT X X X X X X X X X
BMBR 110% 110% 95% 105% 105% 105% 105% 105% 95%
BCPR 75% 75% 25% 55% 55% 60% 65% 65% 25%
TCPR X X X X X X X X X
BSHP 95% 90% 55% 80% 90% 80% 80% 85% 85%
CRSR X X X X X X X X X
LNDR X X X X X X X X X
SUBM X X X X X X X X X
MISL FIGT BMBR BCPR TCPR BSHP CRSR LADR SUBM
INFT 25% X X 7% 30% X X X X
MECH 85% X X 9% 35% X X X X
MTNK 105% X X 12% 45% 10% 55% 35% 10%
TANK 85% X X 10% 40% 1% 5% 10% 1%
RCON 28% X X 10% 40% X X X X
APC* X X X X X X X X X
ARTL 80% X X X X 40% 65% 55% 60%
RCKT 90% X X X X 55% 85% 60% 85%
AAGN 55% 65% 75% 120% 120% X X X X
MISL X 100% 100% 120% 120% X X X X
FIGT X 55% 100% 100% 100% X X X X
BMBR 105% X X X X 75% 85% 95% 95%
BCPR 65% X X 65% 95% 25% 55% 25% 25%
TCPR X X X X X X X X X
BSHP 90% X X X X 50% 95% 95% 95%
CRSR X 55% 65% 115% 115% X X X 90%
LNDR X X X X X X X X X
SUBM X X X X X 55% 25% 95% 55%
~iv. Gold Menu Options~
After satesfying certain criteria, your menu options may begin to
glow golden. This doesn't really do anything; it's just for show.
To make Campaign glow, you must finish Advance Campaign.
To make Field Training glow, you must earn 14 A ranks.
To make Records (under Stats) glow, you must finish War Room.
I've heard from various sources that you can make other options glow
by completing the following:
Make Battle Maps glow by buying everything.
Make Rank (and possibly Stats) glow by getting a perfect Campaign
rank.
Make War Room glow by getting 20 S-ranks.
I'll check them out and update this list accordingly.
~v. How to Do Stuff~
Wipe memory clean: Press Right, Select and L as you power on.
Change name: You can only change your name by wiping the memory.
Access Campaign Mode (and others): Complete Field Training. You can
skip it by completing the Fog of War mission; however, if it's your
first time playing you really should do all of them. Of course, you
also shouldn't be reading this FAQ, since you've just had the whole
thing spoiled. :p
Access Advance Campaign: Finish Regular Campaign; buy it from Battle
Maps. Hold Select as you select New Campaign to play it.
~vi. Personal Records~
This is just how 'well' I'm doing. :) This'll be updated every now
and then when I have something significant to add. It won't
contribute to the version # as it isn't that important.
Rank 34: Jade Bull
Campaign Score: S 951 (whew)
Advance Campaign Score: B 776
Field Training: 14 As
Battle Maps: All COs, all maps but Royal Channel
War Room:
Spann Island VS Olaf: Max S 985 11 days
Moji Island VS Grit: Max B 837 19 days
Duo Falls VS Kanbei: Max B 840 18 days
Sole Harbor VS Drake: Drake B 688 33 days
Pivot Isle VS Eagle: Max B 842 21 days
Land's End VS Olaf: Max A 902 19 days
Kita Straight VS Drake: Max S 954 27 days
(Yup, first try. Couldn't tell you how to save my life.)
Point Stormy VS Olaf: Max A 921 20 days
Ridge Island VS Grit: Sami B 699 21 days
(Mech Flood is the only way I could finish this ^_^;)
Mial's Hope VS Eagle: Max B 771 24 days
Bounty River VS Sonja: Drake B 800 41 days
Toil Ferry VS Grit: Max B 750 29 days
Twin Isle VS Kanbei: Grit B 681 34 days
Dire Range VS Eagle: Max C 598 31 days
(This stage introduced the concept of E-rank. :p)
Egg Islands VS Drake: Max C 562 46 days
Terra Maw VS Sonja: Drake C 464 57 days
Stamp Islands VS Kanbei & Olaf: Sami B 668 32 days
Rivers Four VS Max & Grit: Sami B 705 33 days
(Let's hear it for Mech Flood!)
Ring Islands VS Sonja & Drake: Max B 705 40 days
Last Mission VS Eagle & Sami: Sami A 855 28 days
(You can beat Sami in 5-6 days if you do it right.)
Average Score: B 761
Total Score: 15227/19980 (76.2%)
~5. Credits/Legal~
Advance Wars is owned by Nintendo. You know that. I know that. They
know that. This is a waste of space. This guide, on the other hand,
is copyright 2001-2002 Uindamu Uiru. Touch it and you will be fed to
a thousand angry Dunsparce.
All data in this guide has been collected by myself (with the sole
exception of, well, everything with a credit). You may not steal it;
if you must steal it, at least provide me with your home address so
that I may hunt you down and break your knees.
This guide may be posted on your site only if it is 100% unaltered,
and if proper credit is given to me (Uiru,
[email protected]). I would
appreciate being informed first. Once you have permission to host
this guide, you may take updates from gamefaqs.com (you don't have to
bug me for newer versions). It will be your responsibility to keep
your version current.
