Last time, Olaf deployed bombers and fighters against us, but they ran out of fuel and crashed before they could do too much damage. Still, we know he’s capable of deploying bombers. Will we be ready for them this time?
Now that’s some firepower!
THE BRIEFING
I don’t know. I feel like we’ve been behind since the start.
The enemy already has fighters and bombers, but it appears that we don’t.
Tell me something I don’t know.
But, I did arrange to have some experimental missiles assigned to you.
And I also got you some rockets. With all you’ve done, Ophelia, it’s the least they could do!
Whoa, I’m glad I’m being recognized. I’ll take them!
It seems that the enemy always has superior units deployed. I apologize.
Nah, don’t worry about it; just let me have fun with missiles and rockets.
Anyway, it’s time to move out!
Day 1
You mean… One of everything?
If you don’t take them out, they’ll do lots of damage to your units. But since they’re across the sea, you can’t easily attack them.
Isn’t that what indirects are for?
Select this unit.
Sure thing, boss!
Units that are three to five spaces away fall within their range. Press the A Button to open the Command Menu.
don’t engage directly, like anti-air units, they don’t take damage. However, they can’t Fire right after moving.
Just like all other indirect units.
Your main focus is to draw units within their attack range. It’s smart to use them in conjunction with anti-air units.
Or fighters, but anti-air is cheaper.
Select this unit.
Got it!
They have the same attack range as missiles–three to five spaces. Now open the Command Menu.
They don’t do as much damage as missiles, but it’s not too shabby.
But they are more expensive!
The greatest advantage of indirect combat units is that they don’t take damage. But as with artillery, they take heavy damage from direct attacks, so you have to protect them.
Indirect units have superior firepower and increase our penetration power. Since they don’t need to occupy the frontline, they let us deal more damage to a single enemy than direct units alone. While four direct units can attack one enemy from one direction, adding indirect units allows even more units to contribute, which is especially useful when multiple attacks are needed from one side.
One more thing about the missiles and rockets… Their movement is classified as tire movement. This is similar to tread movement, but the difference is clear on flat terrain. Select terrain or a unit and press the R Button for more details.
What Nell meant by flat terrain is plains terrain. Forest is also worse for wheels, but roads and properties are all the same.
I’m going to leave the rest up to you. Do you want any strategic advice?
You know it!
First, try to take out as many enemy units as you can with your anti-air units and your missiles. If you surround your missiles and rockets to protect them, the enemy will move in to attack. If you can take the units around the HQ with your rockets, the battle will be yours. You can send troops in to the HQ by transport copter or surround it and slowly work your way in. Do it however you like! Good luck!
It sounds like Nell is suggesting an HQ capture for this mission. That’s certainly possible, but I’m going to rout Olaf’s forces instead, since I find it more fun that way. But before that, here is the intel on Rockets and Missiles.
INTEL — ROCKETS
Rockets cost 16,000G and have a movement speed of 5 with a tire movement type, making them fairly slow and less mobile across rough terrain. Like artillery, they are indirect-fire units, but Rockets pack more firepower and greater range, making them a stronger and more powerful version of standard artillery.
Their high cost and worse movement mean they require careful positioning and protection, but a well-placed Rocket can control large portions of the battlefield and deal heavy damage from a distance. They may be slow, but their increased range and firepower make them a valuable investment when you have the funds to deploy them.
INTEL — MISSILES
Missiles cost 12,000G and have a movement speed of 4 with a tire movement type. They are the only indirect anti-air unit in Advance Wars, giving them a unique role on the battlefield. Their long attack range allows them to target enemy aircraft while staying safely behind the frontline.
Their slow movement means positioning is important, but Missiles can provide excellent protection against enemy air units. With the ability to attack from a distance, they are especially useful for controlling airspace and discouraging opponents from sending aircraft into areas covered by them.
And here is our strategy for this mission.
STRATEGY — OPERATION THUNDER BASTION
I do agree with Nell that we should protect our indirect missiles and rockets, as they provide excellent fire support and can punish Olaf’s forces before they reach our defensive line. With that in mind, we will establish Operation Thunder Bastion, using our indirect units as the backbone of our firepower while our direct-combat units clean up Olaf’s weakened forces.
We will keep our Anti-Air units close to the missiles and rockets to protect them from Olaf’s air forces. Our goal is to make approaching the artillery position costly, while preventing enemy aircraft from freely striking our vulnerable indirect units. This lets our indirect units constantly fire at high-value targets, weakening Olaf’s advance before it reaches our main forces.
At the same time, we will direct our remaining mobile ground forces north to intercept Olaf’s ground army. Rather than allowing his forces to approach our artillery uncontested, we will engage them away from our indirect units and use our mobility to control where the battle takes place. Tanks and other direct-combat units will form the frontline, while the Rockets and Missiles provide supporting fire from behind it.
Our Infantry will remain in reserve around our defensive positions, protecting vulnerable units and filling gaps in the line when necessary. Their priority will be preventing Olaf from exploiting openings in our defense.
The overall objective is simple: keep the Thunder Bastion intact while steadily dismantling Olaf’s army. Our frontline will absorb and contain the enemy advance, our Anti-Air will deny his air force, and our Rockets and Missiles will rain down fire from safety. If we maintain this formation and avoid exposing our indirect units, Olaf will be forced to fight on our terms.
First, let’s set up our protective screen with Anti-Air and infantry.
Infantry cannot survive bombardment from the bomber, and we don’t want to damage our Anti-Air since they are needed to fight off Olaf’s air forces, so the only option is to use an APC. Since the APC attracts enemy attacks, and Olaf’s bomber and one of the Battle Copters can reach it, we need to protect the APC so only one side is exposed to the enemy to prevent it from being destroyed. Our best bet here is our Battle Copter. You may have noticed this leaves our rocket exposed to Olaf’s Bomber! But this is okay because, remember, APCs always have priority, so the Bomber will target the APC instead.
We’ll also advance the rest of our ground forces north. We can also spare a mech north via the Transport Copter. But we want to make sure we stay out of Olaf’s medium tank range for now.
Enemy Day 1
Olaf’s air force advanced and attacked our defense. I actually expected him to attack my Copter, but he attacked my infantry instead. Even better for me, actually.
Aside from that, he moved his ground forces forward, but he kept the tank and medium tank back to protect his HQ. I guess he does learn, although he left them in range of our rockets.
Honestly, it’s weird seeing army value in our favor at the end of day one.
Day 2
Let’s start the day by destroying Olaf’s air forces.
We will move the severely wounded infantry and the APC into a safe corner. They have done their job, so now we just want to keep them safe to survive the battle and to make space to maneuver our anti-air.
Although wounded, Olaf still has a Battle Copter left, and we cannot defeat it with our current army position. This is actually a mistake on my end. If we had moved more infantry down south yesterday, we probably would have been able to wipe out Olaf’s air forces today. That’s okay though; Olaf’s copter is weak enough that it won’t deal significant damage to us. Let’s move on to dealing with Olaf’s ground forces.
With the power of our Rockets and our own Medium Tank, we easily destroy Olaf’s Medium Tank. With our current firepower, they’re far less intimidating. We also advanced the rest of our ground forces up to get ready for the infantry cleanup.
Enemy Day 2
There wasn’t much Olaf could have done today. He had already lost most of his high-value units, so he was only able to attack us with his heavily wounded tank and copters.
Day 3
We have now entered the cleanup phase. To start off, we will clean up what’s left of Olaf’s air forces.
With Olaf’s air force eliminated, our indirect units have free rein on the enemy.
We can use our rocket to start working on the tanks Olaf stationed by his HQ to guard against captures, and we will also block the tank’s escape route with our Battle Copters so that his tank cannot run away from our range.
Finally, we advance our ground forces to start eliminating Olaf’s infantry and mechs. I have noticed that Olaf’s infantry seems to never attack, so it should be safe to advance our mech deep into Olaf’s infantry forces. But just in case, I’ll also move the transport copter to cover the mech’s flank.
Enemy Day 3
Olaf’s infantry seems to care only about capturing properties, so we’re back to Olaf doing nothing. That usually means it’s time to end the mission.
Day 4
Let’s keep it short and simple and eliminate Olaf’s remaining forces.
See, easy peasy!
That’s right! Second achievement obtained!
You cleared this map that quickly??? Incredible!
Well… If I didn’t care about losses, we could be even faster!
I’m impressed at how far you’ve developed your skills! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Nell!
Augh!!! I never had a chance this time!
I’m surprised you realize that!
NELL!!! Just wait until next time!
RESULTS
Today we got to play around with the most powerful ground indirect units! But I’m concerned about Olaf’s growing air forces. Is there anything we can do about them?
Next time… we’ll play around more with air and indirect combat units!
LOADING TRANSMISSIONS…