The Bumps Along the Way (Part 3)

Welcome to part 3 of my Advance Wars game guide. In the last part, I showed the major mechanics of the pieces that you are playing with however there is more to that. Your pieces interact with a world around it and has to traverse it to reach your opponent's pieces. Trust me, you'll need to know what the environments do in order to maximize your chances of success in the game. In my experience, even the smallest factors can bend a match in your favor.

Before I get started I would like to state that all images used are taken (screenshotted) by me. All credit is given to Intelligent Systems for the content contained in each image.

Every Unit has a Movement Type From this List:

-Tank (Tracks):

Flare, Rig, Anti-Air, Artillery, Tank, Medium Tank, and War Tank

-Infantry (Foot)

-Mech (Foot)

-Tire A: 

Recon, Rocket, and Missile

-Tire B: 

Bike and Anti-Tank

-Trpt (water transport):

Gunboat and Lander

-Ship (propeller):

Battleship, Carrier, Submarine, and Cruiser

-Air (flight):

Fighter, Bomber, Duster, Battle Copter, and Transport Copter

The Environment

All usable terrain in the game can provide 0-4 stars of defense to units on the tile with 0 being no defense and 4 being the maximum defense boost possible. When in Fog of War, the player can only see what their units see thus making use of their vision stat necessary for finding enemy units. Some terrain cannot be seen into until a unit is adjacent to that square. Naval units (Ship and Trpt) cannot use land tiles and Ground units cannot use any water based tiles. Air units do not receive defense regardless of terrain and can pass over all usable terrain at full speed.

Plain

-This is the most common terrain in the game which can be traversed at full speed by all units except those with Tire A movement. Provides 1 star defense to Ground units

Road

-Fairly common terrain that provides full movement to all units of all movement types. Provides 0 star defense to Ground units. 

Wood

-Fairly common terrain that massively deters all Tire type movement, moderately deters Tank type movement and does not deter Air or Foot type movement. Hides ground units from vision. Provides 3 star defense to Ground units

Mountain

-Fairly common terrain that can only be traversed by Air or Foot movement. Infantry movement is deterred significantly but Mech movement is not. Provides 4 star defense to Infantry and Mech units.

Wasteland

-Almost exactly like the Wood terrain, it is a fairly common terrain that massively deters all Tire type movement, moderately deters Tank type movement and does not deter Air or Foot type movement. Provides 2 star defense to Ground units.

Ruins

-Uncommon terrain that shares the exact traits of Plains. However it hides Ground units from vision. Provides 1 star defense to Ground units.

Fire

-Rare terrain that is, impassable by all types of movement and provides a 5 square radius of vision to all participants in the match.

Sea

-Most common water terrain which can only be traversed by Ship, Transport, and Air type units at full movement. Provides 0 star defense to Naval units

Bridge

-Uncommon terrain that goes over Sea squares or rivers. All units can pass this terrain at full movement. Any Naval units pass under the bridge, Ground units use it like a Road and Air units simply fly over it.

River

-Uncommon terrain that can only be traversed by Air or Foot movement. Infantry movement is deterred significantly but Mech movement is not. Bridges can pass over this terrain to allow Ground unit travel. Provides 0 star defense to Infantry and Mech units.

Beach

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Transport units. Tire A and Tire B movement types are moderately deterred on this tile. Ships cannot enter this tile. Provides 0 star defense to Ground and Transport units.

Rough

-Water terrain that can be traversed by Naval and Air units. Ship and Transport type movement is moderately deterred. Provides 2 star defense to Naval units

Mist

-Water terrain that can be traversed by Naval and Air units at full movement. Hides Naval units from Vision. Provides 1 star defense to Naval units.

Reef

-Water terrain that can be traversed by Naval and Air units. Ship and Transport type movement is moderately deterred.  Hides Naval units from Vision. Provides 2 star defense to Naval units.

City (This is a critical building)

-Terrain that is more common than all other buildings which can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, heals units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground units from Vision, and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your ground units if neutral. Provides 2 star defense to Ground units.

Communications Tower

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, provides a defense+attack boost to ALL your units, hides your Ground units from Vision, and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your ground units if neutral. Provides 3 star defense to Ground units.

Radar

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, hides your Ground units from Vision, and provides a 5 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your ground units if neutral. Provides 3 star defense to Ground units.

Silo

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. If captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units, the player can launch a one time missile to anywhere on the board and damage all units in a 13 square area by 3 HP. Provides 1 star defense to Ground units.

Meteor

-Blocks movement from ALL units and can be destroyed by attacking it.

Plasma

-Blocks movement from ALL units and can be destroyed by attacking the Meteor adjacent to it. If there is no Meteor attached, it cannot be removed in any way.

Headquarters (This is an extremely important building to know)

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, heals units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground units from Vision, and provides a 2 tile radius of vision. There is typically 1 HQ per participant of a match and must be protected from capture by any means. If it is captured by opposing Infantry, Mechs or Bikes, you lose the game immediately, all your units are destroyed and all of your captured buildings go to your opponent who took it. Provides 4 star defense to Ground units.

Factory (This is a critical building)

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, heals units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground units from Vision, allows you to use money to buy Ground units and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your ground units if neutral. Provides 3 star defense to Ground units.

Airport (This is a critical building)

-Terrain that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Grants 1000 money per turn, heals Air units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground/Air units from Vision, allows you to use money to buy Air units and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your ground units if neutral. Provides 3 star defense to Ground units.

Port (This is a critical building)

-Terrain that can be traversed by ALL units at full movement if you own it (only Ground and Trpt naval units can enter a neutral Port). Grants 1000 money per turn, heals Naval units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground/Naval units from Vision, allows you to use money to buy Naval units and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your Ground/Trpt naval units if neutral. Provides 3 star defense to Ground and Naval units. 

Any building that I labeled as critical should be captured as soon as possible. They can mean the everything to your strategy and tactics. I cannot stress that part enough. 

Temp Airport

-Terrain built by Rigs that can be traversed by all Ground and Air units at full movement. Heals Air units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground/Air units from Vision, and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your Ground and Air units if neutral. Provides 1 star defense to Ground units.

Temp Port

-Terrain built by Rigs that can be traversed by ALL units at full movement if you own it (only Ground and Trpt naval units can enter a neutral Port). Heals Naval units on the square 2 HP per turn, hides your Ground/Naval units from Vision, and provides a 2 tile radius of vision if captured by Infantry, Mech or Bike units. It can hide your Ground/Trpt naval units if neutral. Provides 1 star defense to Ground and Naval units. 

Now that we have gone over the various pieces of terrain in the game, you are now informed of how each can affect your gameplay and decisions. Often times, the defense of terrain can make the difference between destroying or significantly damaging an opposing unit. On top of that, being able to buy one more unit than your opponent can entirely decide the outcome of a match alone. With that in mind, you do not want to lose any building that provides unit purchasing in almost all circumstances.

In the next section I will be covering techniques and some advanced applications of all the info I covered so far. See you again.