Advance Wars FAQ v 1.5
By Shotgunner
Copyright by Shotgunner

Version History
9/25/01 - Started FAQ, added Intro, Legal Info, Contents, Modes of play,
Commanding Officers(COs) - v 0.5
9/25/01 - Added Unit Types, Damage Chart, Tips, Thanks,
Contact Info - v1.0
9/27/01 - Added Future Content, made some spelling corrections, corrected info
about Vs. Mode, made correction to Field Training description - v1.5

INTRO

This FAQ is for Advance Wars, one of the first strategy games for the GBA(Game
Boy Advance). Despite the cute name, this is a challenging game. Each mission
is basically the same: defeat the enemy units or capture the enemy HQ whle
preventing the enemy from doing the same to you. However, there are enough
challenges in the game to make it replayable quite a few times. And with multi
player capibilities and a map designer mode, this game is easy to pick up, yet
hard to put down. I am not much of a strategy fan, but it is getting addictive.

Please keep in mind that I am typing this up as I advance thru the game.
Therefore, some of the info contained here may be changed if found to be
incorrect or faulty.

LEGAL INFO

You may do anything to this document EXECPT:

Change the content of it in ANY way
Place it in your magazine
Copy it and claim it is your original work
Charge ANY form of payment(money, goods, or services) for it

Pretty much, as long as you give me the credit I deserve, and follow the four
rules above, you can do anything with this document. The only other thing I ask
is that if you want to put it on your site, please ask permission. You will
find my e-mail address in Contact Info down at the end of this document.

Any similiarities to other FAQs/strategy guides are not intentional, and are
purely a coincidence.

CONTENTS

1-Modes of play
2-COs(Commanding Officers)
3-Unit Types
4-Damage Chart
5-Tips
6-Thanks
7-Contact Info
8-Future Content

1-MODES OF PLAY

There are a total of 8 modes of play. They are listed below:

Field Training - Nell, an Orange Star CO, helps you learn the ropes. You'll
learn how to combine units, examine terrian, move units, how to attack, and so
on. You have to at least complete Field Training Mission 14 to unlock the other
modes. However, I strongly suggest playing thru all of the Field Training
missions. Also, there is a special 15th Field Training mission that will be
unlocked if you complete all 14 previous Field Training Missions.

Campaign - This is the main part of the game. After Field Training, you will
know what your units can and can't do in the Campaigns - can you use that
knoweledge successfully?

War Room - These are maps that have pre-determined layouts for both your trops
and your opponent(s). Choose your CO and go! Kinda like a "Quick Start" mode.
Unlocked after you complete all 14 of the Field Training missions.

Stats - Basicaly, it's your combat record - how well you have done in the War
Room and your overall ranking based on all gameplay elements.

Battle Maps - This is actually a shop where you can buy new maps to play on in
the various modes, and after completeing the game once and by meeting certian
conditions while playing the Campaigns, you can buy new COs here, too.

Design Maps - Create-A-Map mode.'Nuff said.

VS. Mode - This is one of two multiplayer modes. VS. Mode is for those who only
have one GBA or one Advance Wars game pak. Despite my previous comments about
Vs. Mode, you can also play it by yourself, and you can use custom maps here
from the Map Designer mode. Also, if you have a link cable and 2 GBAs, but only
1 AW pak, you can still do a link battle in Vs. Mode! The GBA that does not
have the game pak inserted will have to "download" the game info from the
"sender"(the GBA with the game pak inserted). I don't know how long it takes to
"download" the info. If anyone knows the answer, please let me know!

Link Mode - This is the exact same as VS. Mode, but it requires a GBA, an
Advance Wars game pak, and a link cable for each player.

2-COMMANDING OFFICERS(COs)

Andy - Your first CO. His CO Power is Hyper Repair, which adds 2 HP to all your
units when used.

Max - Max's CO Power, Max Force, boosts all of your direct fire units' power
for one turn. Indirect fire units are not affected.

Sami - Sami's troops move faster, and her CO Power, Double Time, ensures that
her troops will get there first.

Olaf - While his troops suffer in rain, they rock in snow, and that's Olaf's Co
Power - Blizzard.

Grit - his CO Power, Sniper, makes all indirect fire units extremely dangerous,
but his direct fire units are not affected by his power(fortunetly).

Eagle - His troops are the preverbal masters of the sky. Combined with his CO
Power, Lighting Strike, his Air Force can dicimate your forces in the blink of
an eye. Lighting Strike allows his troops to attack TWICE in one turn. However,
his weakness is his navy.

Hanbei - Hanbei's CO Power, Morale Boost, boosts up his troop's attack power
for a single turn.

Sonja - Hanbei's daughter. Her CO Power, Enhanced Vision, will cut right thru
the Fog of War like it wasn't even there.

Drake - Drake is the exact opposite of Eagle - strong navy, weak air force.
However, his redeeming quality(or most hated quality, depending on your
opinion) is his CO Power:Tsunami. It hits ALL units on the map, including air
units.

Nell - An Orange Star CO, she walks you thru the Field Training missions and
offers good advice. Her CO Power is currently unknown, but I can confirm that
she is unlockable in the Battle Map shop. I heard, er, "read" a rumor that you
can unlock her by getting an S Rank on EVERY mission you go in during a
Campaigh in Advance Mode. CAn someone confirm/shoot down this rumor?

3-UNIT TYPES

A good CO knows his or her units by sight, as well as their basic strengths and
weaknesses. Below is all the unit types and their price(deploying units is
covered in the Field Training). Some units are "indirect fire units". THis
means that they can attack from a few squares away without fear of retaliation.
However, they can not attack the square directly to the north, south, east, or
west.

Infantry - Your basic cannon fodder. They arer only effective aganist other
infantry or mech. infantry. Pitting your infantry aganist anything else is
asking for that unit to be destroyed. Avoid AA units like the plauge! Armed
with a machine gun. 1000 cr.

Mech. Infantry - Despite their name, they are the same as regular infantry, but
they are also armed with a bazooka, making them dangerous to all ground-based
units. However, like regular infantry, avoid the AA units like the plauge. 3000
cr.

APC - Used to quickly move a single infantry unit a long distance. However, it
also acts like a "supply base", as it refills ammo and fuel to any unit one
square away to the north, south, east, or west. They have no weapons, and
loaded infantry can NOT defend an APC that is under attack, so your best bet is
to use them to supply your other units. 5000 cr.

Recon - A weakly armed and armored unit. However, it has great mobility. Do not
engage anything other than infantry; even mech. infantry will rip recon units
apart. 4000 cr.

Tank - Your basic tank. Good armor and weapons. Since it is armed with a
machine gun, it can attack infantry. Avoid mech. infantry unless thier HP is
below 5 and yours is near full. 7000 cr.

Med. Tank - Talk about power and armor. Any regular infantry unit that engages
this one is almost always history. Excellent for taking out AA units and
artillery. 16000 cr.

Artillery - An indirect fire unit with decent range and power. Sweeps aside
infantry units like they wern't even there. 6000 cr.

Antiair(AA) - AA units are effective aganist both air units AND infantry. Since
AA units are armed with high calibur machine guns, it amkes sense that they can
be used aganist infantry. AA units can literally kill an entire platoon of
infantry without breaking a sweat. However, due to weaker armor, it is not as
invulnurable as tanks and med. tanks are aganist infantry machine guns. 8000
cr.

Rockets - Another indirect fire unit, it has great range and firepower. It's
only real weakiness is it's inability to defend itself from being attacked.
15000 cr.

Missiles - Your best bet for taking out your opponent's air force. Good range
and damage. Their only real weaknesses are their inability to defend itself
from attack, its price(12000 cr.) and the fact that it can only attack airborne
units. However, this is a good unit to put next to or near an AA unit. If the
AA unit can't get the job done, a barrage of missiles will make sure that the
aircraft in question is going down hard. A preverbal "sky sweeper". This is an
indirect fire unit.

Lander - An APC that can only be used in the sea. Unlike it's counterparts,
there is no restriction as to what type of units can go in them, and you can
fit TWO units in a lander. 12000 cr.

Cruiser - a decent naval unit, good for guarding Battleships. It is one of 2
naval units that can attacked submerged subs. 18000 cr.

Battleship - The grand-daddy of all navy units. Can bombard both sea and shore
targets with its massive cannons. Pretty pricy, though, at. 28000 cr. The only
sea-based indirect fire unit. An equal opportunity unit killer.

Submarine - This unit can dive to avoid attacks, but it uses it's fuel at twice
the normal rate while submerged. 20000 cr.

Battle Copter - Your baisc air unit. Kinda like an airborne tank. Good damage
and range, but extremely weak aganist AA units and especially missiles. 9000
cr.

Transport Copter - a flying APC. You already know the story with this one. 5000
cr.

Fighter - A great air unit, but it is capible of only attacking air units.
Dangerous to copters and to a weakened bomber. 20000 cr.

Bomber - Just what the doctor ordered! An artillery unit giving you the fits?
Just say "Bomb's away!". Keep out of missile range unless you want to spend a
ton on cr. to keep bombers. Your bombers have a better chance aganist AA units
than aganist missiles. 22000 cr.

4-DAMAGE CHART

Here's how all the units stack up aganist each other. The higher the number,
the more damage it does/takes. Each unit is listed, and then has "vs.
infantry", "vs. mech. infantry", and so on below it.

Each is rated 1 - 5(5 being the best). 0 means that unit can't be attacked.
Example - Infantry can't attack fighters, so their vs. Fighter rating is 0.

Infantry

vs. Infantry - 2
Vs. Mech. infantry - 2
vs. APC - 2
vs. Recon - 1
vs. Tank - 1
vs. Med. Tank - 1
vs. Artillery - 2
vs. Antiair(AA) - 1
vs. Rockets - 2
vs. Missiles - 2
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 1
vs. Transport Copter - 1
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Mech. Infantry

vs. Infantry - 3
Vs. Mech. infantry - 2
vs. APC - 4
vs. Recon - 4
vs. Tank - 3
vs. Med. Tank - 2
vs. Artillery - 4
vs. Antiair(AA) - 3
vs. Rockets - 4
vs. Missiles - 4
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 1
vs. Transport Copter - 2
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

APC

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Recon

vs. Infantry - 2
Vs. Mech. infantry - 2
vs. APC - 2
vs. Recon - 1
vs. Tank - 1
vs. Med. Tank - 1
vs. Artillery - 2
vs. Antiair(AA) - 1
vs. Rockets - 2
vs. Missiles - 1
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 1
vs. Transport Copter - 2
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Tank

vs. Infantry - 4
Vs. Mech. infantry - 4
vs. APC - 4
vs. Recon - 4
vs. Tank - 2
vs. Med. Tank - 2
vs. Artillery - 4
vs. Antiair(AA) - 3
vs. Rockets - 4
vs. Missiles - 4
vs. Lander - 1
vs. Cruiser - 1
vs. Battleship - 1
vs. Submarine - 1
vs. Battle Copter - 1
vs. Transport Copter - 2
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Med. Tank

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 5
vs. Recon - 5
vs. Tank - 5
vs. Med. Tank - 3
vs. Artillery - 5
vs. Antiair(AA) - 5
vs. Rockets - 5
vs. Missiles - 5
vs. Lander - 2
vs. Cruiser - 1
vs. Battleship - 1
vs. Submarine - 2
vs. Battle Copter - 1
vs. Transport Copter - 3
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Artillery

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 4
vs. Recon - 4
vs. Tank - 4
vs. Med. Tank - 2
vs. Artillery - 4
vs. Antiair(AA) - 3
vs. Rockets - 4
vs. Missiles - 4
vs. Lander - 3
vs. Cruiser - 3
vs. Battleship - 2
vs. Submarine - 3
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Antiair(AA)

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 3
vs. Recon - 3
vs. Tank - 2
vs. Med. Tank - 2
vs. Artillery - 3
vs. Antiair(AA) - 2
vs. Rockets - 3
vs. Missiles - 3
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 5
vs. Transport Copter - 5
vs. Fighter - 3
vs. Bomber - 3

Rockets

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 5
vs. Recon - 5
vs. Tank - 5
vs. Med. Tank - 3
vs. Artillery - 5
vs. Antiair(AA) - 5
vs. Rockets - 5
vs. Missiles - 5
vs. Lander - 5
vs. Cruiser - 5
vs. Battleship - 3
vs. Submarine - 3
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Missiles

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 5
vs. Transport Copter - 5
vs. Fighter - 5
vs. Bomber - 5

Lander

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Cruiser

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 5
vs. Battle Copter - 5
vs. Transport Copter - 5
vs. Fighter - 3
vs. Bomber - 3

Battleship

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 5
vs. Recon - 5
vs. Tank - 5
vs. Med. Tank - 3
vs. Artillery - 5
vs. Antiair(AA) - 5
vs. Rockets - 5
vs. Missiles - 5
vs. Lander - 5
vs. Cruiser - 5
vs. Battleship - 4
vs. Submarine - 5
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Submarine

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 2
vs. Cruiser - 3
vs. Battleship - 3
vs. Submarine - 5
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Battle Copter

vs. Infantry - 4
Vs. Mech. infantry - 4
vs. APC - 3
vs. Recon - 3
vs. Tank - 3
vs. Med. Tank - 2
vs. Artillery - 3
vs. Antiair(AA) - 2
vs. Rockets - 3
vs. Missiles - 3
vs. Lander - 3
vs. Cruiser - 2
vs. Battleship - 2
vs. Submarine - 2
vs. Battle Copter - 3
vs. Transport Copter - 5
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Transport Copter

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

Fighter

vs. Infantry - 0
Vs. Mech. infantry - 0
vs. APC - 0
vs. Recon - 0
vs. Tank - 0
vs. Med. Tank - 0
vs. Artillery - 0
vs. Antiair(AA) - 0
vs. Rockets - 0
vs. Missiles - 0
vs. Lander - 0
vs. Cruiser - 0
vs. Battleship - 0
vs. Submarine - 0
vs. Battle Copter - 5
vs. Transport Copter - 5
vs. Fighter - 3
vs. Bomber - 5

Bomber

vs. Infantry - 5
Vs. Mech. infantry - 5
vs. APC - 5
vs. Recon - 5
vs. Tank - 5
vs. Med. Tank - 5
vs. Artillery - 5
vs. Antiair(AA) - 5
vs. Rockets - 5
vs. Missiles - 5
vs. Lander - 5
vs. Cruiser - 5
vs. Battleship - 4
vs. Submarine - 5
vs. Battle Copter - 0
vs. Transport Copter - 0
vs. Fighter - 0
vs. Bomber - 0

NOTE - although the units may appear different in appearance in the various
armies in the game, they all follow the above chart.

5-TIPS

Be sure you know what your current CO Power is. It's possible to forget,
especially if you use a particular CO for a few missions and then switch either
by chioce or you are forced to. If you need to review a CO Power, check the
second section of this document.

Each soldier/tank/etc. in the battle animations represent 2 of the current
unit. Likewise, the Damage Chart above adhears to this fact. For example, if
you were to attack a full strength Infantry unit with a Full strength AA unit,
then the infantry unit will 9 times out of 10 be completely eliminated. Keep
this in mind when you are deciding what unit to strike with first!(each
tank/soldier/etc. = 20% of unit strength)

When your units are near enemy units, check the enemy unit ranges BEFORE you
move. It would be a shame to have your advance halted due to a few losses by
enemy artillery or rockets...

When designing maps, keep in mind that your factories should be open on at
least 3 sides. Otherwise, you can only deploy one unit at a time.

Speaking of deploying units, remember that you must wait until your next turn
to move newly deployed units.

Need more credits? Either halt building units for a few turns, or hurt your
opponent's wallet at the same time - capture his cities.

There are three ways to prevent enemy units from being deployed. One, capture
all the enemy cities. Two, capture all the enemy factories(referred to as
"bases" whle playing). Or, three - simply park one of your units on top of an
enemy factory. Since newly deployed units are placed on the factory square, and
units can not overlap each other(2 units can not share the same square), the
enemy is effectivly reduced to fighting for his own bases! This is risky, but
it allows you to stop enemy production for awhile.

Take a good look at the ENTIRE map before you make your first move. Assuming
Fog Of War is not present, you will be able to see all the enemy units, how
many cities, bases, airports, etc. This can make a real difference in the first
few turns.

Use the "leapfrog" technique when moving Recon units, especially in Fog Of War.
BY leapfrog, I mean that you move all your units enough squares to remain in
range of another unit. THis way, if one of your units is attacked(or surprised
in Fog Of War), you can retaliate with your other units.

Also, make a "Circle of Wagons" around APCs. Doing this makes them unreachable
to all enemy units execpt for Bombers, Battle Copters, and indirect fire units.

Try to keep at least 2 APCs running back and forth at all times. If you have a
group of units going north and a group going east, keep an APC with them.
Remember, the APC is a moving "base", as it can refuel and replenish a unit's
ammo.

Use the terrain to your advantage. The only ground based units that can cross
mountians are Infantry and Mech. Infantry. Tanks, AA, and so on can't cross it;
they have to go around. Airborne units are not affected by terrain.

All enemy units need to be able to move in at least one direction. So, if you
were to surround an enemy unit, you have pretty much killed it. Good for taking
care of those nasty Rockets and Artillery units.

Almost all units use ammo. WHen you see a flashing bullet on a unit, that means
that that unit is almost out of ammo. Likewise, when you see a flashing fuel
can, the unit is almost out of fuel.

Units that are out of fuel can't move. However, air units will crash and sea
units will sink without fuel.

The Cruiser can hold a Transport Copter if you need to get it out of the air.

Destroy enemy APCs. Doing so will cost the enemy credits to replace them, and
it also prevents them from making as many offensive units. Doing this also
prevents enemy units from rearming/refueling, forcing them to seek out a
friendly city.

Form a blockade. Tanks can't go into water, so they have to cross a bridge. If
an enemy factory is on an island, you can literally put a "cork in the bottle"
by preventing the enemy from using the bridge. A couple of indirect fire units
and a Med. Tank or two, combined with an APC for rearming/refueling, can stop
an army cold, as they won't be able to deploy new units. As you destroy the new
units, the enemy wil replace them, allowing you to capture enemy cities, bases,
airports, and so on - maybe even the enemy HQ.

If you capture the enemy HQ, the battle is instantly over. Likewise, you
instantly lose if your HQ is captured by the enemy.

Notice the stars in the top right side of your "window" during the battle
animations? Those stars represent the amount of devensive value the current
terrain is giving you. The more stars there are, the better protected you are.

Infantry and Mech. Infantry can cross rivers without using a bridge, but they
need a lander if they want to cross ocean.

Any APC-type unit(Transport Copters, Landers, and APCs) can not defend
themselves, and neither can the units they are transporting. A destroyed
APC-type unit also costs you(or your opponent) the unit(s) they were carrying.

6-THANKS

Thank go to:

Me, for taking the time to make this
Nintendo Power Advance, for the Damage Chart info, and CO info
Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Kid Rock, and Rammstein for keeping me sane while I
made this document
Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, for making this great game
My girlfriend, for putting up with my temporary insanity while I made this
All the performers in the WWF, for the sole reason of giving me an excuse to
stop typing on Sunday and Monday nights to watch them give another good
performance while risking their own necks to do so

CONTACT INFO

So, you have a comment, question, or correction? Or maybe you want to tell me
how good/bad my FAQ is? send all types of e-mail here ->
csanicola@yahoo.com

I will report any "violent" e-mails to your ISP provider, or to your "free
mail" provider. What happens after that is beyond my control. So please behave
when sending me e-mail, ok?

8-FUTURE CONTENT

This section is for what I hope to add in the future.

As of 9/27/01, I hope to add:

Complete stats for all units
Some custom maps
Controls

Well, until my next FAQ, this is THE END.