Advance Wars Days of Ruin By: Tronn Bonne Guide - CO Lin Copyright 2010 Tronn Bonne Version 1.0 ================= Table of Contents ================= 1. Version History 2. Copyright and Disclaimer 3. Purpose of this Guide 4. Important Terms 5. Introduction to Lin 6. CO Effect Statistics 7. COP Statistics 8. Days of Ruin Metagame 9. Lin�s War Room 10. Countering Lin 11. Lin vs Other COs 12. Opinions on Lin 13. People I want to thank =================== 1. Version History =================== Version 1.0 [3/27/10] Guide Completed =========================== 2. Copyright and Disclaimer =========================== This document is (c)2010 Tronn Bonne. This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal and private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. The only sites authorized to use this guide are gamefaqs.com and warsworldnews.com. If you want to use this guide, please e-mail me at the following address: [email protected] Lin, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and all related characters are copyright of Nintendo. ======================== 3. Purpose of this Guide ======================== This guide is not designed for beginners to Advance Wars Days of Ruin. If you are unfamiliar with the basics of the game then I suggest you read the opening section of one of the walkthrough guides for Advance Wars Days of Ruin posted on GameFAQs. I will only discuss aspects of the game mechanics which I feel are not well known or are especially important. In this guide I will be utilizing the North American translation of the game which is titled Advance Wars Days of Ruin. Please note that the game is also known as Dark Conflict in the European version but Lin and the translation of her CO Power are the same in both versions of the game. I will also not provide any spoilers about the campaign story and will only make general references to it when they pertain to Lin. I will be the first to admit that it might appear strange for me to be finishing this guide now when the game came out over two years ago. I originally started it when wi-fi activity for DoR was at its peak in the six months after the game was released. Although the online activity of DoR has decreased I feel that a CO FAQ dedicated to Lin will be beneficial since I still encounter players who regard her as a weak or overly specialized CO and do not recognize the extent of her strengths nor how to use her effectively. Therefore, this FAQ is not only about providing tips for utilizing Lin but also showing why she is one of the stronger COs in DoR. Furthermore, Lin is effectively the DoR version of Sonja, the CO I wrote FAQs on in the previous AWs, which was an added element of attachment to her and only fueled my desire to finally finish this guide. The way I am structuring this FAQ is a little different than my previous guides, mostly because the CO mechanics in DoR are quite a bit different from previous AWs. The two biggest changes is that I have a section discussing the metagame and I tried to condense all of the strategy into one section. There are numerous other differences as well but some things, like the versus section, are largely the same. Feel free to e-mail me at the address in the Copyright and Disclaimer Section if you notice any mistakes or have any comments with this guide. Please contact me if you wish to use any of the information in this guide or its format for a guide/FAQ of your own. Also, feel free to e-mail me if you wish to submit a strategy that works well with Lin or if you would like to share your opinion of her. I reserve the right to select what material I will and will not include in this guide. I will give full credit to the authors of any outside material that I do decide to include. ================== 4. Important Terms ================== The following is a list of terminology which I will regularly use throughout this FAQ: -DoR=Days of Ruin -AWDS=Advance Wars Dual Strike -AW=The Advance Wars series -IS=Intelligent Systems, the developers of Advance Wars -OHKO=One Hit Kill -FOW=Fog of War -Ambush=When a unit runs into an enemy hidden unit during FoW, causing it to lose the rest of its action -Capture Phase=Also called Expansion Phase. This is the early portion of the game when players are trying to capture as many properties as possible -CO=Commanding Officer -COP=CO Power -CO Unit=The unit that the CO is deployed in -CO Effect=The benefit that a deployed CO provides to their units -CO Zone=The range of the CO Effect around a deployed CO -CO Meter=The meter which can be charged by attacking with units inside the CO Zone -Indirects=Units that can attack from long range but normally are unable to counterattack or move and attack -Directs= Units that can only attack units adjacent to themselves -Ground Units=Units like Infantry, Tanks, and Artillery -Infantry Units=Units that can capture properties. This includes Infantry, Mechs, and Bikes -100/100=The basic unit stats. The first number refers to offense while the second refers to defense. Therefore, a unit with 20% offense and 10% defense boost will be 120/110 ====================== 5. Introduction to Lin ====================== Lin is the stern second-in-command of the 12th Battalion. As a specialist in intelligence gathering, she proves to be more far more calculating in her strategies than the idealistic Captain Brenner or the inexperienced Will. This often brings her into disagreement with Brenner or Will when they are deciding the next move for the 12th Battalion. She is also the one who usually provides advice, especially early in the campaign, during a tactics session in battle. Name: Lin Faction: 12th Battalion The 12th Battalion�s unflappable second in command. She has tremendous respect for Captain Brenner, although they disagree often. �Keep a cool head.� CO Zone: 1 Boosts: Ground Units Effect: Attack up ** Defense up ** CO Power: Scout Adds 2 to ground-unit vision, including hiding places. How to Unlock: Initially available for use. Lin was seen as a very weak CO when DoR was first released and, at first glance, she does appear that way. Her CO Zone only has a radius of 1 while the unique effect of her CO Power only applies if she is fighting in FOW. For quite some time she was neglected and would regularly be listed as an underpowered CO in the many tier lists posted online. However, this completely changed as more active, competitive DoR players gained a much better grasp of the DoR game mechanics. The following are the main reasons for this imrpoved opinion of Lin's abilities: 1. With the exception of the deliberately broken Caulder and the CO Zone of 0 Tabitha, Lin provides the greatest stat boost to ground units in the game. This is considerable since it allows her to both achieve and deny more OHKOs with ground units than almost all of the other COs. 2. A CO Zone of 1 is just large enough to be able to reliably charge a COP meter. Just as important, a CO Zone of 3 is the optimal size for a CO effect to greatly impact a part of the battle. Naturally, a larger CO Zone never hurts and it does require more effort to charge Lin�s CO Meter than other COs but the reward to her ground units is considerable. 3. Lin�s COP is not useless out of FOW because activating a COP causes the stat boost from the CO Effect in addition to the COP effect to apply to all units that CO controls. This means that when Lin activates her COP all of her ground units become among the best in the game. ======================= 6. CO Effect Statistics ======================= Outside of Lin�s CO Effect all of her units, like all of the other DoR COs, are normal strength at 100/100. Lin�s CO Effect contributes a stat boost to all ground units, including Infantry Units like Mechs, direct combat units like Tanks, indirect combat units like Rockets, and even Rigs. Each star listed under a CO Effect equals a 10% boost to that respective stat. Since Lin�s CO Effect lists ** for offense and ** for defense her ground units gain a 20% boost to both stats. However, this is a little deceptive since all CO Zones generate an additional 10% offense and 10% defense boost to all of the CO�s units which are within range. Therefore, all of Lin�s ground units actually gain a 30% offense and 30% defense boost while her air and naval units receive a 10% offense and 10% defense boost. The following is fairly basic knowledge but I will go over it here anyway. Lin�s starting CO Zone is 1 which means the four squares Immediately adjacent to the unit she is deployed in will benefit from her CO Effect. Equally important, only the units which attack while within her CO Zone will increase her CO Meter. When her CO Meter is half full her CO Zone increases to 2. When her CO Meter becomes full the zone increases to 3 and she can also use her COP if she so chooses. Furthermore, if the unit that Lin is deployed in becomes destroyed then her CO Meter is reduced to 0 and she must be deployed once more. Deploying a CO in a unit can only be done at an owned production property, such as a factory, or the faction HQ and costs 50% of the funds required to deploy that unit. Therefore, it will cost 3,500 fund to place Lin in a Tank which costs 7,000. This means that you have spent 10,500 on one unit. Furthermore, you can not deploy a CO in a unit that has been recorded as moving that turn. This means you must wait a turn before deploying Lin in a unit that you built that turn or moved onto a production property or her HQ. Also, placing a CO in a unit will automatically upgrade it to Veteran status which gives it a 20% offense and 20% defense boost in addition to other modifies. This means that if Lin is deployed in a ground unit then it will have 150/150 stats from her 20% CO Effect, universal 10% CO Zone boost, and 20% Veteran status. As a result, in a 55% unit matchup, such as a Tank vs. Tank, Lin�s CO Tank will do 82% (8-9 HP) of damage while sustaining almost no counterattack damage in return. Below are some statistics showing the difference Lin's CO Effect has on certain unit matchups. Of particular importance are the new or potential OHKOs that Lin's boost generates. The first unit listed is Lin's while the second is the unit being targeted. Lin's units only include the boost from her CO Effect and Zone for 130/130 stats. The targeted units all have 100/100 stats which means they do not have a level, lack defensive cover, and are not under the effect of a CO Zone. Lin's Ground Unit Offense ------------------------------------ Infantry vs Mech 58% Mech vs Anti-Tank 71% Recon vs Infantry 97% Recon vs Mech 84% Recon vs Flare 39% Tank vs Infantry 97% Tank vs Tank 71% Tank vs Medium Tank 45% Medium Tank vs Mech 104% Medium Tank vs Tank 91% Medium Tank vs War Tank 45% War Tank vs Tank 110% War Tank vs Medium Tank 97% War Tank vs Anti-Tank 52% Artillery vs Mech 110% Artillery vs Tank 78% Artillery vs Artillery 97% Rockets vs Tank 91% Rockets vs Medium Tank 71% ROckets vs Anti-Tank 84% Anti-Air vs Mech 136% Anti-Air vs Duster 97% Anti-Air vs Bomber 91% The following list uses the same parameters as the first with Lin's units at 130/130 and the enemy's at 100/100. However, this list shows the impact her CO Effect has when her units are being attacked. Therefore, the first unit listed is the enemy's while the second is Lin's. This list demonstrates that it still pays to be the attacker in DoR although Lin does deny certain critical OHKOs and greatly reduces the impact of any attack boost the enemy units might have. Furthermore, her increased defense combined with her increased offense also means her ground units sustain considerably less counterattack damage from the enemy. Lin's Ground Unit Defense ------------------------------------ Infantry vs Mech 34% Anti-Air vs Mech 80% Tank vs Tank 42% Tank vs Medium Tank 26% Medium Tank vs Mech 61% War Tank vs Tank 65% Artillery vs Artillery 57% Bomber vs Anti-Air 65% ================= 7. COP Statistics ================= When Lin activates her COP, called Scout, it applies all of her CO Effects to all of her units in addition to the effects of the COP itself. This means that all of Lin�s ground units get 130/130 stats while her air and naval units get 110/110. The COP lasts for a turn and at the start of Lin�s next turn her CO Meter will be empty and her CO Zone will return to 1. Activating a COP also uses the action of the CO�s deployed unit. The unique effects of Lin�s Scout COP is +2 vision to ground units and revealing hiding places. The first effect is very straightforward and all it means is that Lin�s ground units get +2 to their vision for that turn. However, the latter means that all of Lin�s ground units will be able to see into hidden terrain during FOW. In other words, Lin will be able to see any units that are residing in woods, reefs, mist, ruins, or properties without having to move a unit past/into/ beside them or using a shot from a Flare unit. Just remember that both the vision boost and the ability to see into hiding places only applies to Lin�s ground units and not air or naval units. Below is the attack strength, defense strength, and vision ranges of Lin's ground units while under the effect of her COP. I have only included her ground units in this list since they are the most affected by Lin�s COP and to illustrate how large their vision ranges become. Of particular interest is that the vision range of all of Lin�s ground Indirects either matches or exceeds their attack range. This means they do not need the assistance of another unit to locate a target within range. Effects from Scout COP -------------------------------- Infantry 130/130 vision 4 (7 on a mountain) Mech 130/130 vision 4 (7 on a mountain) Bike 130/130 vision 4 Recon 130/130 vision 7 Flare 130/130 vision 4 Anti-Air 130/130 vision 5 Tank 130/130 vision 5 Medium Tank 130/130 vision 4 War Tank 130/130 vision 4 Artillery 130/130 vision 5 Anti-Tank 130/130 vision 4 Rockets 130/130 vision 5 Missiles 130/130 vision 7 Rig 0/130 vision 3 It is also worth noting the game mechanics of Rain in this section. Rain in DoR reduces the vision range of all unit to 1 (not by 1 as in the past AWs). Therefore, a Recon will have the same vision range as a War Tank. Even Infantry and Mechs on mountains will have a vision range of 1. The exception to this rule, aside from the CO Penny who is immune to weather effects, is Lin�s Scout COP. If she activates it during Rain then all of her ground units will still have their vision range extended by 2. This means all of her ground units will have a vision range of 3 during her COP and will still be able to see into hidden terrain. ========================= 8. Days of Ruin Metagame ========================= The term metagame often has a negative connotation to it when used in conjunction with video games. Sometimes it merely refers to a dominant form of playing the game while at others times it represents a strategy that exploit�s the game mechanics in a way the game developers did not intend. However, that is really only part of the story since how a metagame forms is highly dependant upon the group of players which formed it. Their choice of maps, character preferences, and unit choices all contribute heavily to their version of the �ultimate� strategy for playing a particular game. The Advance Wars series is no exception and several online communities dedicated to the series were formed over the past decade. Among the activities of these communities and their members were discussions on game mechanics, CO balance, theorizing about strategies, and engaging in completive play with one another. The last activity was the most critical to creating a concept of the AW metagame and this process was only made easier with sites that allowed online AW play (chiefly Advance Wars by the Web), AWDS link mode, and DoR�s wi-fi. However, the metagames that formed did undergo changes over time as players became more experienced and faced a wider range of opponents. I am not going to invest too much space detailing all of the particulars of the latest online consensus on the DoR metagame. My primary reasons for this decision is that, as I stated above, metagames are heavily influenced by the playing preferences of the groups which formed them. Map selection in particular has had a powerful impact upon AW competitive play and what COs/strategies excel. Therefore, the metagame of a community that favors small, land based maps will differ greatly from a community whose metagame favors large, air based maps. As I result, I intend to only provide a brief overview of the general consensus AW sites developed for the past AW metagame, the current DoR metagame, and how Lin fits into it. My basis for the following descriptions of the AW metagames has been my own experience in online competitive play coupled with discussions and statements generated over the years by other competitive AW players online. In the three AW games leading up to DoR the metagame revolved around what was called Meat Shielding. You mostly produced Infantry units and supported them with artillery. CO choices were particularly important since their effects on the battle were more pronounced than the DoR COs and they could easily change the tide of the battle with their abilities. In fact, part of the Meat Shielding strategy was letting your Infantry get destroyed so you could charge up the CO�s CO Power and use it to force a breakthrough. This meant that one type of CO could almost always defeat another CO that was ill suited to that style of play either because they lacked a good enough CO Power, a good enough day-to-day boost or both. DoR plays differently. The game developers recognized the stalemate nature of the past AW games and made numerous major changes with the system. The most major was the complete restructuring of the units in the game. This ranged from price changes to unit matchups. A stronger unit rock-paper-scissor style of play was implemented along with a leveling system that rewarded units for staying alive. COs were also toned down by requiring them to be deployed in units, having only one COP, and having a CO Zone which concentrates their influence on the battle. However, COs are still very important elements to the game, especially since even the default CO Zone boost opens up numerous OHKO matchups, but they do require considerably more skill to utilize well than the CO abilities in previous AWs. Furthermore, forcing COs to be deployed in a unit also promoted a more aggressive play style since a player could no longer sacrifice swarms of Infantry in order to charge their CO Power. Instead, they need to take the iniative with their units and strike first. Infantry�s effectiveness was greatly reduced in DoR although the usefulness of Mech units was noticeably increased. The speed of the game, especially the Capture Phase, was also increased with the introduction of Bike capturing units. However, all of the infantry type units are easier to OHKO with the aid of a CO and the right kind of ground unit. This means that while Mechs and, to a lesser extent, Bikes are very dominate features in the game it is harder to form a Meat Shield with them. Therefore, Indirects are not as important as they once were since it is harder to shield them although they are still extremely important to the game and devastating when employed in large numbers. The end result is more diverse army compositions when compared to the previous AW games, although Mechs are certainly a prominant unit, and more aggressive gameplay. The reason why Mechs are so effective is that they have a low cost but are relatively good on the offense against most ground units. They are also able to capture properties too and traverse certain terrain easily. However, their low speed, the decreased price of Medium Tanks/War Tanks compared to their older AW counterparts, and the level system does a lot to prevent DoR from being simply a Mech Spam. As I mentioned earlier, COs play an important role in this metagame since they can swing the ground war into their favor by opening up several OHKOs with even a default CO Zone stat boost. Furthermore, the COP of certain COs are still capably of turning the tide of the battle when utilized well. A CO Zone is also critical for not only spreading the benefits of the CO Effect but for being able to continue providing its benefits once the CO's unit becomes damaged. However, a massive CO Zone is not necessary either. In fact, extending the CO Effect to a few key units is often all that is needed to have a critical impact in combat and the CO with a small CO Zone can be maneuvered to extend their effect to many units in a single turn. The thing that you will notice with this metagame is that it is focused on ground units and small to mid-sized land or land/air maps which is where Lin excels. Her small CO Zone requires the player to be precise with her placement until she can charge her CO Meter and increase her CO Zone but the benefit from her CO Effect is immense. As I stated earlier, only Caulder and Tabitha provide a higher boost to their ground units. However, Caulder is intentionally broken so he does not figure into the metagame and Tabitha lacks a CO Zone which forces the unit she is deployed in to directly charge up the first half of her CO Meter. Thus, Lin�s ground units within her CO Zone will outclass almost all other ground units. To put it into perspective, her ground units have both the attack boost of Will and the defense boost of Brenner. The end result of this developed metagame is that Lin is considered a solid CO choice for a DoR game because she provides such a large boost to her ground units. This boost is so great that she is an excellent choice for matches outside of FOW and she becomes only better in a FOW match. Her stat boosts opens up more OHKO matchups for herself while denying more of them to her opponent. She is also, thanks to having a CO Radius of 1, is able to keep the tempo of her attacks once her CO Unit becomes damaged since she can sit just behind her front lines in order to boost her units. ================= 9. Lin�s War Room ================= Now that I have presented the DoR metagame and the basic of Lin's CO Effect and SCOP I can focus entirely on her strategies, what factors affect her strategies, and a general analysis of her abilities as a CO. When discussing most DoR COs you need to consider five major things: What unit to deploy the CO in, how to charge their CO Meter, how to make the most out of their CO Effect, when to use their COP, and what type of map they are effective on. I�ll first look at Lin as a whole before discussing the other facets of how to use her. Overview of Lin ---------------- Lin is, simply, both a ground unit specialist and a FOW specialist. Since she favors land battles it is best to cater your force to accommodate that fact. This does not mean to never use air or naval units but you should have them compliment Lin�s ground forces rather than be the hammer of her army. With that said, the exact composition of Lin�s ground forces is very open since she boosts all of them. Thus, it does not matter if you wish to rain death with Indirects, swarm the enemy with Mechs, or use Tanks to blitzkrieg your opponent. Lin is able to perform all of them very effectively. As a ground unit specialist, Lin really prefers maps that enable her to have a direct route for her ground units to take to the enemy. She naturally suffers on a map where this is not the case, such as her being on a seperate island from the enemy. In such a circumstance it is best to force aland war on the enemy by transporting ground units to their territory. However, this is often unfeasible until you establish some aerial or naval supremacy beforehand. Still, her CO Boost can be very effective when it comes to fighting the enemy�s ground forces on a small, contested island in the middle of an ocean. Lin is a FOW specialist largely thanks to the effects of her COP which allows her to easily locate even a hidden enemy force. However, she should not rely exclusively on it to get her through FOW matches since the boost that her CO Effect provides is just too good. Therefore, you should not neglect having Flares or Recons in your force. Both units, Flares in particular, are invaluable in a FOW game for locating the enemy and getting your bearings in the battle. FOW games tend to be slower as both players are more cautious in their movements. Furthermore, early combat in FOW is usually in the form of a few small, brutal skirmishes as units become ambushed by moving into a terrain space occupied by an enemy unit that was hidden. Typically a unit that is ambushed is destroyed in the following turn since the unit that ambushed it is rarely alone. These small yet brutal combats only favor Lin because it is easier to get adjacent units to benefit from her small CO Zone and increase her CO Meter. Of course, Lin is not helpless outside of FOW either. As I showed in the previous sections, Lin�s boost to her ground units is very, very good. Furthermore, if you are playing a non-FOW map but have random weather then there is always a chance that it will Rain which provides one opportunity to use Scout if you need to. The same can be said if Penny�s Stormfront COP causes it to Rain for three days. Still, at the end of the day Lin was designed to be a FOW CO by IS, the game�s developers. The unique effects of her COP are only useful in FOW and it is easier to charge her CO Meter during a FOW match. Yet it is the emphasis that the game places on ground units and the great boost Lin provides them which enables her to be excellent outside of FOW. Deploying Lin -------------- What unit you deploy Lin in is important because, ideally, you want her to remain in that unit for the remainder of the battle so you do not have to recharge her CO Meter. Deploying her into a ground unit is obvious since the unit will benefit from her CO Effect and be harder to destroy because of the defense boost she provides. Yet since her CO Zone is small you also want to start charging it earlier rather than later in the battle. Furthermore, cost is also a factor since it consumes more funds to place a CO in a more expensive unit. On the other hand, a more expensive unit will be more durable and is noticeably stronger by having Lin deployed in it. There are essentially two routes that a player can take when it comes to deploying Lin. The first is to place her in a cheaper ground unit relatively early in the battle and use her to augment other units with her CO Effect rather than directly engaging the enemy with Lin. The second is to save funds for a stronger unit and apply pressure on the enemy early on with Lin in this unit. The size of a map and the amount of available funds on it is an important factor since it is harder to deploy Lin in a more expensive unit on a small or low resource map. Thanks to the strength of her CO Effect, virtually all of the game�s ground units are lethal in Lin's hands. Therefore, below are the pros and cons of the major choices available in ground units: 1. Bike: The advantage of the Bike is that it is an inexpensive unit in addition to being fast over open ground. You can easily place Lin in a Bike on turn 2 and use her to help combat opposing infantry units during the early portions of the game. The Bike�s speed also makes it easier to position her on the battlefield and retreat if she becomes too damaged. Placing her in a Bike is also more useful on very small maps since there will be fewer vehicles to worry about. However, the biggest draw back to Bikes is that they are very soft targets. Therefore, you will have to be extra careful to protect Lin. A Mech or even an Infantry is a decent alternative to a Bike although I find that I only prefer them on extremely small maps or those dominated by rugged terrain. 2. Flare: This might seem like an odd choice, especially outside of FOW,but the Flare has two major advantages. The first is that it is fairly well armored and can easily shrug off the machine gun fire from other low cost ground units. The second is that it is a relatively inexpensive choice for a CO Unit considering its protection from machine guns. Placing Lin in a Flare only costs 2,500 which makes the total cost only 500 more than building a Tank. The Flare is also fairly fast with its treads and can engage Infantry, Bikes, Recons, and even Mechs (if it gets first strike) quite well. It is even more useful during FOW since you can keep Lin behind the lines but still have her unit directly contribute to the battle by launching flares when they are needed. However, a Flare unit is very vulnerable to Mech, Tank, and Artillery attacks in addition to being unable to cause most other vehicles much damage. 3. Artillery: An Artillery unit is still rather inexpensive since it only costs 9000 total to place Lin into one. Furthermore, Artillery has the tremendous advantage of enabling her to damage the enemy without exposing herself to direct attack. If it is a FOW game or the terrain favors Indirects then it can prove very beneficial to invest in deploying Lin in Artillery or even a Rocket if it is a large map with plenty of funds. The disadvantages are that Indirects can be surprisingly vulnerable targets and most of them are unable to counterattack. 4. Tank: A Tank is a safe choice for Lin since it is fast, well armored, and capable of effectively fightning most ground units. It costs a total of 10,500 to deploy Lin in a Tank which, while not cheap, is not terribly expensive. Lin�s Tank will perform well against other ground units and her CO Zone of 1 will enable her to continue boosting the units immediately around her once her Tank becomes damaged. An Anti-Air is a decent alternative to a Tank since it costs the same and is very effective against infantry units and air units. 5. Medium Tank: This is the unit of choice for players who prefer to save Funds and place Lin inside of something with serious firepower and staying power. Furthermore, it also has respectable movement which is important for getting her into the fight and out of it if she becomes too damaged. However, it is expensive since you will need to Spend 12,000 on the Medium Tank and another 6,000 to place Lin inside of it. Yet once she is on the field her Medium Tank will outclass most other CO�s Medium Tanks which forces her opponent to resort to War Tanks, Indirects, air units, or sheer numbers in order to counter it.vSome players like to go even further and deploy Lin in a War Tank but my experience has shown that this is too expensive on most maps and the extra movement from a Medium Tank really helps Lin get to where she needs to be. Charging the CO Meter --------------------- Once the capture phase is over, you and your opponent will be, most likely, competing for properties toward the center of the map. This is the point when you really want to increase Lin�s CO zone. Ideally, you should use her unit to destroy an enemy unit and then have another unit move in front of her to attack. This tactic will not only help increase her CO Meter but will also limit the amount of opportunities your opponent has to attack Lin directly. If her unit becomes damaged then you should keep her just behind your other units, augmenting them with her CO Effect, until you have an opportunity to repair her or merge her with another unit of the same type. Thus, her small CO Zone of 1 is just large enough for her to adequately maintain the tempo of your attacks during the early battles against the enemy. However, you really do not want her unit to be destroyed and for the CO Meter to reset. Therefore, if it is either fall back with her or risk being destroyed then you should always fall back. Terrain and the set up of the map can help with charging Lin�s CO Meter. For example, trying to hold the enemy off at a chokepoint like a bridge or a mountain pass is great for Lin since she needs to be positioned behind only one unit. This is made even easier if you deployed an Indirect and positioned it next to her (or placed herself inside an Indirect). Heavily forested terrain or clusters of properties in a FOW game also help since Lin and several units can hide in them and ambush the enemy as they arrive. The most important thing to remember is that only units attacking within Lin�s CO zone will increase her meter. Therefore, do everything you can to position Lin next to units which will cause the most damage to the enemy. Finally, it is important to understand how the CO Meter charges in DoR. Every 5HP of damage inflicted will increase the CO Meter by 1 mark. Since the CO Meter consists of 12 marks it will take 30HP of damage to reach the halfway point and 60HP of damage to charge it fully. Because your goal with Lin is to charge her CO Meter as quickly as possible you should try to maximize the amount of damage done rather than maximize the number of units you destroy. For example, if you have two units that can do 65% damage to two enemy units while under Lin�s CO Effect then you should attack them both in order to maximize the amount of HP damage done rather than concentrate fire on one unit. Once you get her CO Zone up to 2 it becomes much easier to fill up the remaining half of her CO Meter. Maximizing the CO Effect ------------------------ When Lin�s CO Zone maxes out at 3 you are really able to start pushing the offensive with her. A radius of 3 is just the right size to enable her to benefit most, if not all, of the units you will have attacking at one section of the map. As a result, you need to be sure that it is the most important part of the battlefield and that you are devoting enough units to fight in it. As I stated earlier, Lin favors ground units so the more of those surrounding her the better results her CO Effect will have. Also, avoid any reckless activity with her CO unit at this point in the game since you really do not want her to be destroyed and have to start charging her CO Meter all over again. Using the Scout COP ------------------- As a general rule of thumb, especially when not in FOW, you should avoid using Lin�s COP. The reason for this is that her CO Effect is just too good when her CO Zone is maxed out at 3. You really do not want to activate the COP and reset the CO Zone back to 1 unless if that one turn will really make a big difference or you are simply trying to finish off a dying opponent. Still, that does not mean that you should never utilize it either. In fact, the following are just a few examples of when using her COP is entirely justified: 1. You are playing on a map with numerous ground battles located everywhere. If Lin is located at one part of the battle but you desperately need her stat boost for ground units at another part of the battle then using Scout COP can be worth it. This scenario naturally becomes more prevalent on larger maps. 2. It suddenly started Raining in a non-FOW game and you were getting ready to attack the enemy. Since it was a non-FOW game you probably don�t have any Flares so this would be an ideal time to use Lin�s COP and continue with the attack. Penny�s COP causing it to Rain in a non-FOW game is another situation similar to this one. 3. You are playing in a FOW map and the enemy has many units hidden within terrain all over the battlefield. Since you probably do not have enough Flares to locate them all it could be worth using the COP so you can maximize the number you can attack. This is especially useful if you are getting ready to attack the enemy�s properties. 4. You are trying to capture enemy properties during a FOW game by sneaking some infantry units into their territory. In this situation using Lin�s COP to ensure that there are no defending units on the properties they are getting ready to capture is worth it, especially if you are trying to capture a factory or their HQ. 5. It is a FOW game and the enemy positioned themselves, with Indirect units, right in front of you but hidden in terrain. If you don�t have a Flare available then using Lin�s COP is worth it so you can neutralize those Indirects before they become a problem. 6. You are playing a game with the Rain effect turned on for the entire battle. Considering the crippling effects of Rain on your vision, utilizing Scout can really provide you with the initiative over your opponent. 7. You are winning the game and getting ready for the final attack on the opponent�s HQ and surrounding properties. Using Scout will ensure all ground units benefit from Lin's Co Effect as they converge on the enemy. Using Scout in this situation is even more useful during FOW since you will instantly see any units the enemy recently produced or placed on their properties. There are certainly others but just remember that Lin's greatest strength is in her CO Effect. While her COP can give her an advantage for a day her CO Effect provides a constant benefit. Map and Rule Preferences ------------------------ Lin naturally favors maps where ground combat is a dominate feature. She is weak in any map which requires extensive use of naval or air units. Furthermore, she also favors FOW although she is perfectly good in games without FOW. However, if she is playing a FOW game then she is especially good in a map with plenty of forests and other terrain that can hide units. This is because she can use her Scout COP to win the hide-and-seek nature of those kind of maps when FOW is present. The size of the map does not directly impact her performance although any map with clusters of rugged terrain or chokepoints make it easier for her to charge her CO Meter. General Tips ------------ Below are just some general tips for playing DoR and all of them certainly apply to using Lin. Of course, some of them I have emphasized previously since they are particularly important to Lin�s strategy. 1. Prioritize destroying enemy CO unit since that resets their CO Meter and removes their CO Effect. Inversely,do your best to keep your CO�s own unit alive. As I discussed earlier, this is especially important for Lin since her CO Effect is not only very beneficial but her starting CO Zone is small. 2. Mechs are very efficient but they are also very slow. Bikes and, to a lesser extent, Infantry are best for the initial scramble for properties during the capture phase of the game but Mechs are very useful infantry units for the later portions of the game. Even if it means creating a steady stream of Mechs from one factory you should try to keep an abundant number of them on the field as the game progresses. However, Bikes will be a better investment for capturing properties even late in the game on a large map due to the low speed of Mechs. 3. Bigger is not necessarily better. A War Tank can be easily destroyed by several cheaper units working in unison. Therefore, be very mindful of where you focus your resources and only invest in more expensive units if they are necessary. For example, you might want to strengthen your defense by producing a Rocket or you need a Bomber or War Tank to break through a chokepoint. 4. Anti-Air units are not only a great counter to air units but they are absolutely lethal against infantry units, including Mechs. Even if a map has no airports they can be a good investment for stemming a tide of Mechs. Just make sure to protect them from Tanks or from Mechs getting the first strike on them. 5. Anti-Tanks are very unusual Indirects. Not only can they attack and counterattack units adjacent to them but they are also able to fire on copter units. Furthermore, they have naturally high defense against tanks which means the best counters to them are Mechs or other Indirects. 6. Never underestimate the defense boost from terrain. Try attacking the enemy from high defense terrain whenever possible. 7. Pay attention to the layout of a map and gauge where the majority of the fighting will take place and plan accordingly. In particular, if there are any strategic chokepoints on the map then you will want to get units and Indirects to defend them before the enemy does. 8. Don�t� underestimate the offense and defense benefit that levels provide to your units. Level I is 5%, Level II is 10%, and Veteran is 20%. Therefore, always think twice before sacrificing an experienced unit. 9. Outside of FOW you will want to pay attention to the type of units your opponent is making. Always make sure that you have a counter to any unit they build, especially if they start focusing on one type of unit. 10. Prioritize neutralizing the enemy�s production properties. This can be accomplished by either outright capturing it or simply placing another unit it on top of it so the opponent can not build with it during their turn. Tips for FOW ------------- I�m sure that unless you absolutely hate FOW you will fight some games with it on. Since Lin is the FOW specialist it is only fitting that I provide some tips and less known facts about FOW in DoR. 1. Flares only have three shots before they run out of ammo but their range is quite large and their ability to reveal hidden terrain is invaluable. Ideally, you should place them on a controlled property near your front lines. Doing so causes them to be supplied every turn which which means you can constantly fire flares with them. Alternatively, you can produce a Rig and keep it near the Flare. 2. Enemy units within hidden properties can be revealed by not only moving one of your units into them, which causes your unit to be ambushed and forfeit the rest of its action, or beside them but also by units moving past them. Furthermore, once a hidden terrain is revealed you will keep sight of it for the remainder of your turn. Thus, pay very close attention to the movement path your units take since changing the path so they move past several woods or properties will reveal if any units are hiding in them. 3. Infantry and Mech units increase their vision by 3 when they are placed on top of a mountain. This gives them the same vision radius as a Recon and is an effective way to quickly increase your vision of an area if you lack a Recon or Flare. 4. Getting a Flare within range of the enemy�s production properties can give you a tremendous intel advantage since you will be able to see what they are producing every turn and adjust your own production accordingly. 5. Never neglect the value of hidden terrain and always take advantage of it whenever you can. Indirects hidden in woods is an old AW tactic and it still works great in DoR. Just be aware that the enemy will produce Flare units too so be sure to guard your units. 6. While woods and, now in DoR, properties can hide units they are not the only terrain features which do so. Remember that you can hide ground units in ruins and ships in reefs and mist. 7. If you are capturing an enemy property then the enemy will be able to see the unit that is capturing it. Be aware of that and try to shield that capturing unit from retaliation. 8. Don�t leave your HQ undefended in a FOW game. Even a simple Infantry on your HQ is infinitely better than no unit defending it. Both human and CPU opponents will try to capture your HQ if they get an opportunity. =================== 10. Countering Lin =================== From reading this FAQ it should be apparent that Lin is at her most dangerous when her CO Meter is full. You must also bear in mind that Lin will have the advantage over most CO's units in the ground war so don�t recklessly attack her head on. Instead, you should make it your priority to destroy the unit Lin is deployed in if her meter is getting close to being half full. You should do so even if this means having your Indirects fire on Lin�s Bike unit rather than the Medium Tank. If attacking her unit is not possible then try attacking units outside of her CO Zone since they will not have Lin's defense boost. Things become more difficult during a FOW match since Lin�s CO unit will probably be hidden and must be located first. Furthermore, if she manages to get her CO Meter full then you will need to take into account the possibility that she will actually use her COP. Therefore, you should not rely on your units being hidden to protect them from attack. Once again, finding and terminating her CO unit is your best option and the sooner you are able to do it the better. Also, trying to draw a Lin player into a naval or air better where she can not provide support with her ground units will greatly reduce her effectiveness. ==================== 11. Lin vs Other COs ==================== With a boost to all of her ground units, Lin is fully capable of adjusting her strategy to compete with the other COs so long as the map type permits it. Below I have listed the other COs in the game and provided brief notes on things you should be aware of when facing them. Although I mentioned this earlier, destroying the CO�s unit is the best way to limit their impact on the game. Therefore, I refrained from reiterating that unless I felt it was absolutely critical for defeating that particular CO. Will ---- Don�t be fooled by his generic hero looks. Will is a very good CO. His attack boost is as high as Lin�s and his CO Meter is easier to charge due to having a higher starting zone. Furthermore, his COP is not only deadly for getting units within range but it doubles the movement of Mechs, making him very dangerous if he decides to focus on producing them. You need to be especially wary of his potential movement range when his COP is charged and of any undefended properties his infantry units might try to take with the aid of the extra movement. Just remember that his lack of a defense boost means Lin�s ground units hit harder than this. Also, his attack boost does not extend to Indirects which gives Lin an advantage in an artillery duel. Brenner ------- Andy has never looked this good er� sorry, wrong AW. Anyway, Brenner is a great CO who can utilize his COP frequently. Unfortunately for him, his COP does not mean much if his units are dead or at/close to full HP. Therefore, make a point to focus fire and kill units when facing a Brenner player with a nearly or fully charged CO Meter rather than trying to weaken all of his units. Furthermore, Brenner lacks an attack boost beyond the default CO Zone boost. Thus, he will have a harder time dealing with the defense boost of Lin�s ground units. Lin ---- Just follow my advice in the Countering Lin section for a Lin versus Lin match. Isabella --------- Isabella is largely considered to be an overpowered CO but, unlike Caulder, not intentionally broken. Her CO effects are pretty standard but her COP is very dangerous. Therefore, you really need to do everything you can to destroy the unit she is deployed in before she can utilize it. If she does manage to charge it then you will have to be wary of her direct combat units having increased movement and her Indirects having increased range. Tasha ----- Her air units hit hard and you should not underestimate that. A B-Copter with her inside will hit as hard as a Bomber. However, her CO Zone is the same size as Lin�s so it takes Tasha some effort to charge her CO Meter. If she does charge her COP then you will need to be wary of her air units flying around your front line and attacking more sensitive targets. However, most Tasha players tend to not use her COP unless it provides a major advantage that turn. Regardless, since she is focused on air units you just need to adjust your army composition accordingly and include more Anti-Airs and Missiles. It is better to try to deny her aerial advantage with the appropriate ground units rather than fight her with your own air units. Gage ---- As an Indirect combat specialist you need to pay attention to his Indirect units at all times. Lin�s Indirects are slightly better in an artillery exchange but only slightly. However, what makes Gage very lethal is his COP which, if used well, can shatter your forces. You need to be aware of the potential range of his Indirects when his CO Meter gets close to being full. Also, it is generally a good idea to prioritize destroying his Indirects throughout the game. Don�t let yourself get dragged into a naval battle with him since he also augments his naval units. Forsythe -------- Forsythe has a large CO boost but that is all he has. You don�t have to worry about him trying to use a COP to break the ice but don�t disregard the stat boost he gives to his units. His large CO Zone can also make it difficult to destroy his CO unit if the player decides to keep him behind the front line. However, once Lin�s CO Zone is increased to 3 her ground units will have a noticeable edge over Forsythe�s. Waylon ------- Do not underestimate Waylon. The effects of his COP reduces the damage to his air units by about 80% for a turn. Plus, his CO Zone is a decent 2 so it is not terribly difficult for him to charge his CO Meter. Like Tasha, you should adjust your army composition to include more ground units that are good against air units. You should also focus on eliminating as many of his air units as possible so fewer will benefit from his COP if he manages to activate it. Greyfield ---------- There really is not much to say about Greyfield. His COP is useful in FOW, for replenishing Flares and Rockets, and for naval maps, for replenishing Subs, Gunboats, and seaplanes. His Copters are a little harder to bring down but still easy prey for Lin�s Anti-Airs. Thus, while he is formidable on a naval map, especially against Lin, he does not have too many advantages elsewhere. Penny ----- Penny�s Stormfront COP presents one of the situations where, outside of FOW, you might really need to use Lin�s COP. If Stormfront causes it to Rain for three days and you don�t have a Flare available then using Scout is not a bad alternative if the result is a lot of damage to Penny's units. However, Stormfront is very random so the effect it generates might be Rain but it could also be Snow or Sandstorms. The end result is that it is hard to plan accordingly when facing Penny. Her COP aside, Penny�s day-to-day is rather weak so Lin�s ground units will dominate Penny�s unless a Sandstorm is in effect. Tabitha ------- Tabitha is both an unusual and dangerous CO. She starts with no CO Zone and it is absolutely essential that you prevent her from gaining one because the boost from her CO Effect is immense and her COP is devastating. However, with a CO Zone of 0 it means that Tabitha must charge the first half of her CO Meter using the unit she is deployed in. It also means a Tabitha player is more likely to deploy her in an expensive unit rather than a cheaper one. However, destroying Tabitha�s unit is easier said than done and requires ample firepower and perhaps even sacrificing some units to do so. Air units are a good counter to a Tabitha Tank if the map contains airports. Otherwise, Indirects and Mechs is the next best counter. Don�t be afraid to suicide units against her since her counterattacks will not increase her CO Meter so long as her CO Zone is 0. Thankfully, the rest of her force is comparatively weak and will be easily dominated by Lin's ground units. Caulder ------- Caulder is completely broken so the only advice I can provide is to really go out of your way to destroy the unit he is deployed in, especially since he regenerates HP for units in his CO Zone. ==================== 12. Opinions on Lin ==================== This section of my guide will include opinions on Lin in addition to my own. Please contact me if you want to share your opinion on her. My Opinion on Lin ------------------ Lin is really an unexpected force within the line up of DoR COs. Pretty much everyone, including myself, regarded her as low tier when the game came out but as time passed she steadily rose in the ranks of the tier lists. In fact, the latest tier list I saw posted placed her toward the top of the Fair category and as the 3rd strongest CO over all (Caulder was excluded from that list). I personal enjoy having a FOW CO in an AW game that is almost equally effective inside and out of FOW. One of the problems with Sonja in the older AWs was that she was either too strong in FOW (AW2 and AWDS) or too weak outside of it (AW1). While Lin is still better suited for FOW games she does not have an overpowering advantage during one nor is she crippled in a regular match. Lin is also interesting to use on a regular basis since she requires a good amount of finesse because of her short CO Zone. She has become my favorite DoR CO for her play style, effectiveness on most maps, and even for her personality in the campaign and theme music. ========================== 13. People I want to Thank ========================== Wars World News for being a great AW community. AdvanceWarsNet for their structured AW ladder. Advance Wars by the Web for all of the great games it provides to AW Players. GipFace for all of the excellent and detailed work he has done over the years for DoR's metagame and tier list. DTK and all of the other contributors to their great DoR FAQ. IS for making this superb addition to the AW series. Finally, this CO guide is dedicated to Sturm�s Meteor Strike for creating the world in Days of Ruin. ============ End of Guide ============
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