Advance Wars

Hey there! Welcome to Advance Wars. This game can be pretty tough, and it's not like a puzzle where you just copy moves. It's all about making smart choices based on the situation. You can easily look up unit stats or map layouts, but the real challenge is figuring out what units to build, where to put them, when to attack, and what risks are worth it. Sometimes, a decision you make early on might not show its consequences for an hour!

The missions in Advance Wars aren't totally predictable. While the first few turns might be similar each time, the enemy AI will react to your units, how much damage you deal, how fast you're capturing things, and what you're building. This means missions can play out a little differently depending on your specific run, especially after the initial turns.

Because of this, this guide won't give you a turn-by-turn script for every single mission. Instead, we'll focus on solid opening moves, how to fight efficiently without wasting resources, and the general strategies that will consistently lead you to victory. If the AI does something a bit different in your game, don't stress about matching every single move. Just focus on the core strategy!

I've put a ton of hours into playing, testing, and documenting Advance Wars strategies over the years. This walkthrough is designed to teach you a framework for making decisions that will help you through the whole campaign. Advance Wars games are long, and so are many of the missions. Learning this framework will help you navigate even the trickiest situations. We'll cover the core principles for cost-efficient fighting (check out the Unit Guide for more on that!) and then give you some general tips for getting a strong start in each mission.

This guide covers all the Campaign missions on both Classic and Challenge difficulties, plus detailed explanations of units, COs, and game mechanics. We'll even touch on War Room, a score-attack mode that uses the same core mechanics.

Hey there! I'm YoyoYoshi, and I've been playing and writing about Advance Wars since the early days. You might know me from my time as a moderator for Advance Wars Net back in the 2000s, or as the webmaster for Advance Wars Revolution (awRev), a big fan site that's actually back online now! We used to host all sorts of stuff there – walkthroughs, custom maps, and plenty of discussions.

More recently, I've put together full walkthroughs for Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, including one that was even featured as GameFAQs' FAQ of the Month. My goal is always to help you understand the 'why' behind the strategies, not just tell you what moves to make. It's the same approach I used for my Dual Strike guide.

Outside of Advance Wars, I'm pretty active in the speedrunning and high-score community, holding top ranks on Cyberscore.me.uk and being a known player in Mario Kart 64. I've also written guides for other Nintendo series like Pokémon and Golden Sun.

You can find more of my guides and resources on my YoyoYoshi Hub, and check out my GameFAQs contributor profile for a full list of my work. I hope this guide helps you get the most out of Advance Wars, whether you're a seasoned veteran or just starting out!

For gameplay videos and campaign runs, check out my YouTube and Twitch channels. You can find links to those, along with my broader archive of guides, on my YoyoYoshi Hub page.