Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp It deceives with its childish and colorful appearance. It is actually a very challenging strategy game, and although similar to Fire Emblemhas a different operation that forces you to remove some “vices”.
Advance Wars is almost a war simulator, in which we send infantry, tanks, submarines or helicopters to destroy rival units and conquer cities and factories. Within its basic rules there is great complexity depending on the turns we have, the geography of the map, the resources we have…
If this is your first time playing the Advance Wars saga thanks to this Nintendo Switch remake, or you last played it 15 or 20 years ago, here we help you with 10 essential tips and tricks for Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp .
10 Advance Wars Tips on Switch
Don’t be afraid to sacrifice units
One of the most characteristic elements of Fire Emblem is permadeath: your units, that is, your characters, will die forever if they die in battle, so you have to play very carefully.
In Advance Wars, on the other hand, units are disposable. They are always the same (no progress, no RPG elements) and usually on the maps there are factories where you can make more.
That’s why you have to get used to the fact that your units are going to die a lot, and in fact sacrifice them to draw enemy fireor using them as a human shield for other more valuable units is something you will have to practice.
Block bridges and roads
Next we will see three examples of uses that you can give to your units beyond attacking, even if it is for certain death.
In Advance Wars, stopping the advance of the troops is essential. Each square you gain is worth gold in this trench warfare, and attacking is just as important as block the path of the enemy.
bridges are always strategic locations that you’ll want to protect by putting up your strongest units by making an impassable wall, and some turns you should consider spending blocking the way while you heal your most offensive units or new factories.
Disable airports or factories
Only infantry and mechanized units can capture cities (to earn funds) and bases (factories, airports, or seaports). That’s why use the transport units (land, sea and air) is important to take units far and capture strategic locations as soon as possible.
But sometimes that is not an option: the infantry is very weak, and although the TOA are resistant, in the turn in which the units get off the truck they will be exposed without being able to take advantage of that turn to capture.
So maybe you should consider not capturing the factories… but disable them: if you have any unit in that space, you will not capture the base, but the rival will not be able to use it to get new units either. If you put a Medium Tank in the factory or port, you will disable it and also draw enemy fire.
Weaker units can be human shields
Finally, remember that all units, even the weakest in combat such as infantry or reconnaissance, will serve to draw enemy fire.
Perhaps instead of taking out a single super strong Medium Tank, you’d be better off using those funds to take out two or three reconnaissance units, which will go down on the first hit, but will distract the rival firethey will protect other more important units if you place them strategically, and it will give you time to advance on another frontheal other units, or even let it run out of fuel and ammo.
The TOA are good shields, and also resupply
In the sense of the previous point, one of my favorite units for this purpose are the TOA, the troop transport units, which have zero attack power, but are quite resistant…
And they also restock ammunition and fuel to other units, something you may not notice, but it is very important to pay attention, especially in indirect attack units such as artillery or missiles.
Keep an eye on the opponent’s attack range
It probably goes without saying, but if you press B on an enemy unit you will be able to see its attack range, marked in red boxes. If you place your units outside of those red squares, they will be safe next turn.
Before each shift, get used to it to look at the range of fire of all enemy unitseven those that seem far away, such as bombers, frigates, indirect attack, or anti-air, which have enormous range and are almost as powerful as a tank even with ground units.
If you have doubts, yes pulse ZR you will be able to see the file of the unit, already what units can attack. Remember that fighters can only attack air units, that cruisers can attack submarines but not ships, that frigates can also attack ground units…
Make sure you attack first
Another important fact to keep in mind is that all units are equal. Your tanks will not be stronger than the opponent’s tanks, nor vice versa. For that equality in battle you must be especially strategic and know where to place your units so that they do not attack you, and that you can attack before.
If you place an offensive unit, such as a medium tank or an anti-aircraft or an artillery unit, at the enemy’s fire (see the point above) you risk being attacked first. And though you may deal damage on the counter, you would do much more damage if you attack first.
But destroying is not always the best option
As we have explained before, attacking is not always the best option: you can place some units to draw your opponent’s fire, to block roads, to block factories…
And there is still another factor to consider: do not destroy the units, but leave them too close together so that they get in each other’s way. If you have the option of attacking with a unit that will deal 100% damage, and another that will deal 80% damage, maybe (and only maybe) it’s worth it. use the one that causes 80% and leave that unit alive but batteredto let you “finish it off” on the counter-attack, and meanwhile occupying a square that might not be directly occupied by another stronger unit of yours.
OJ power activates taking damage
Another reason why attacking isn’t always the best option is that dealing a lot of damage also pays off. The meter power of o.j. (and superpower in Advance Wars 2) goes up every time you deal damage and take damage, but scales much faster when taking damage.
Specifically, in Advance Wars 1 your power bar will go up when you deal damage by 25% of what it would go up if you took that damage.
In Advance Wars 2 the damage dealt is increased by 50% of the damage taken. That’s how it was in Game Boy Advance at least, we don’t know for sure in this remake, but definitely, taking damage means raising your power bar faster, so mercilessly attacking the opponent means that their power bar will rise much faster , and that does not suit you.
Send units to gain visibility in the fog
Finally, another essential use of the units in which there are fog of war is to provide visibility. Reconnaissance units are essential in this task: they have little firepower, but they will allow you to clear the fog many squares around.
Keep in mind that if you don’t physically see them you won’t be able to use artillery or indirect attack units to attack them, even if you know they are there.
If you don’t have acknowledgments handy, also remember that uploading your infantry units in mountains It will allow you to increase visibility, and it will also give them a lot of defense. Use them as lookouts!
These are 10 Must-Have Tips and Tricks for Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Campbut there are many more things you should know about the game, such as the differences between the different OJ: Do not underestimate the choice of general in missions where you are allowed to, because it can have a brutal impact on the outcome of the battle.