 Andy
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 No strengths or weaknesses. All units have regular firepower, defences etc.
 Hyper Repair: All units restore 2HP, and their attack and defence rises by 10%.
Extra Info: Andy, having no weaknesses or strengths, makes him a perfectly viable CO in any situation. His CO Power has an average cost, allowing it to be used almost any time it is needed. Don’t bother wasting it when your units are on 10HP, however – the standard boost alone isn’t worth emptying your CO bar.
Cost: 300,000G
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Max
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 Max’s direct combat units (except soldiers) are 50% more powerful when attacking. The attack range of his indirect combat units is reduced by 1, and their attack and defence is 10% lower.
 Max Force: Max’s direct combat units (except soldiers) have their attack boost increased to total a massive 174% attack. They, along with his transports, also get an extra 1 movement space. All units get 10% extra defence and his non-boosted units get a 10% attack raise.
Extra Info: Max is the all-time king of tank rushes in AW1, and his Md. Tanks are simply unmatched in ground combat. Since all air units count as direct units, they also get his attack and movement boosts, as do Landers (move only), Subs and Cruisers. The 50% attack boost is really unfair, though, so using him in multiplayer isn’t advised. To counter Max, force him into chokepoints where you might just be able to wall him long enough for your indirects to shell his directs.
Cost: 300,000G
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Sami
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Sami’s soldier units have a 20% attack and 10% defence boost, and capture properties 50% faster. Her transport units (except Cruisers) have one extra movement space. Her non-soldier direct combat units have 10% less attack power.
Double Time: Sami’s soldiers can move over all ground terrain unhindered. Their movement range is also increased, and all her units get a 10% attack and defence boost.
Extra Info: Sami is hard to use but very effective once mastered. Her soldiers can hold their own against Kanbei’s, having equal attack power, slightly lower defence and normal cost. Remember too that her indirect-combat units are perfectly average, making them usable.
One edge that Sami has over the other COs is that her CO Power charges faster than any other CO. This allows her to charge her soldiers even faster and compensate for her direct-combat weakness, somewhat.
Power Cost: 250,000G
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Nell
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Nell’s units can do up to 15% more damage, luck providing.
Lucky Star: Her units get a 10% attack and defence boost. They also have their potential damage increased to a maximum of 60%. Has nothing to do with anime.
Extra Info: Nell should really be played like any other CO. Her additional damage can really help out, if it kicks in. Don’t rely on it heavily.
Power Cost: 300,000G
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 Olaf
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Olaf’s units aren’t affected by snow, but rain makes them move as slow as any other CO would move through rain.
Blizzard: Snow falls for one day. All of Olaf’s units get a 10% attack and defence boost.
Extra Info: Olaf is a fun CO to play as in random weather. Most battles are played in clear weather, however, making him very reliant on his Blizzard power. On a day-to-day basis, he gets no special attack or defence boosts, making him quite difficult to use. When Blizzard is used, however, you can make use of the enemy’s slower movement in order to cover some ground faster.
Power Cost: 300,000G
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Grit
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Grit’s indirect units have +1 attack range. His direct combat units (including soldiers) have 20% less attack power.
Snipe Attack: Grit’s indirect combat range increases further, totalling +3. His indirects get a 64% attack boost, and other units all receive a 10% attack boost.
Extra Info: Grit is essentially the anti-Max, and equally overpowered. With his increased range, he’ll be shelling your units and building up his CO Power very quickly. Even though they’ll get theirs sooner, once you have yours, no enemy is likely to be safe. You can then use your tanks to mop up any stragglers.
Power Cost: 300,000G
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 Eagle
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Eagle’s air units have 15% more attack power and 10% more defence. They also use 2 units less fuel per turn. His ships have 20% less firepower.
Lightning Strike: All units (except soldiers) can move again, but lose 20% attack and defence power.
Extra Info: In order to make the most of Eagle’s strengths, he needs air units, obviously. However, he is perfectly usable without them solely on the power of Lightning Strike. Losing some firepower and defence isn’t much of a problem, since it gives you a chance to mop up any enemies that you didn’t finish in your main turn. Remember to activate it after you’ve moved everything, however.
Power Cost: 500,000G
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Drake
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Drake’s sea units have a movement boost of one space and get two extra terrain stars. His air units have 20% less firepower. Rain doesn’t affect his movement costs, and occurs more frequently on maps with random weather.
Tsunami: All enemy units lose 1HP. Drake’s units get a 10% attack and defence boost.
Extra Info: Drake’s most dangerous asset is his Tsunami power. Free damage on all enemies is very useful to soften them up, since he has no attack boosts aside from the standard 10% during CO Power turns. His rain movement immunity and naval improvements are very useful extras, which require some extra tactical thinking to make good usage of.
The movement and defence boost gives Drake the best Landers in the game. Having the movement of Sami with the defence of Kanbei at normal price is a very useful advantage. His bonuses aren’t limited to Landers, as the movement boost has obvious bonuses for Subs and Cruisers – a better chance at striking first, with less counterattack damage. The bonuses aren’t so useful for Battleships, but extra movement allows them to get to good firing positions much quicker. His immunity to rain’s movement restrictions doesn’t see much play, but is extremely useful on random weather maps, especially against Olaf. Contrary to popular belief, Drake is no worse in snow than Andy (for example), and his vision is impaired during rain, if Fog of War is in play.
Power Cost: 400,000G
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 Kanbei
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Units have 20% additional firepower and defence, but cost 20% more to deploy and repair.
Morale Boost: All units are boosted by a further 17%, for both attack and defence.
Extra Info: Kanbei is an overpowered CO in pre-deployed maps. Although his units cost more to repair, you still aren’t spending enough that it would be impeding you at all. He is also good on maps where you deploy your own units. His firepower and defence is unbeaten, and only matched by certain specialist COs. This is offset by the fact you will have fewer units until you can have a large income. As such, use lighter units to do as much damage as possible until you can afford to deploy things such as Md. Tanks, Rockets, planes and ships.
Power Cost: 500,000G
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Sonja
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Sonja’s vision ranges are one space wider during Fog of War. Her HP is hidden from enemies, and cannot be seen until they attack. She is also unlucky, and her attacks can sometimes do up to 20% less damage.
Enhanced Vision: Sonja’s vision ranges are increased by a further two spaces. She can also see into all forests and reefs within her vision ranges. All units get a 10% attack and defence boost.
Extra Info: Sonja is, by a long shot, the most difficult CO to work with. Outside of Fog, the only reason you would want to use her is for the veiled HP. This is one ability that there exists no real counter for – even if you battle with animations on, you still need to remember what HP Sonja’s units are on, and keep track of where they are. In Fog, this can become extremely difficult since Sonja can always hide outside of your vision range if her units take damage, making it impossible to keep track of her HP. Her CO Power is worthless outside of Fog, making her very overspecialised. However, he attack boost can help to mitigate her bad luck, and the defence reduces any counterattack fire you will receive.
It should be noted that when the AI is controlling Sonja, her bad luck never occurs, and since the AI has an infinite vision range anyway, they can see literally everywhere.
Power Cost: 300,000G
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 Sturm
(Campaign)
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Sturm’s units have 20% extra attack power and movement costs of 1 in clear and rainy weather. Their defences are 20% lower, however.
Meteor Strike: A meteor is pulled from space. It has a radius of 3 spaces and damages all targets for 8HP of damage. Units are boosted by 12%, in both attack and defence. Sturm cannot use his CO Power on the “Enigma” level.
Extra Info: Any information on how to play as Campaign Sturm is redundant, since he is unplayable. Instead, this section will be about countering him.
Sturm has unhindered movement – think AW2/DS’s Terrain Tactics power. As such, he won’t have a lot of trouble making use of his increased firepower. It is therefore advisable to make use of your first turn to attack and set up further attacks. Make sure you have the first attack on Sturm as much as is possible, otherwise he will waste no time in destroying you with his increased firepower.
Meteor Strike targets your units based on numbers and cost. As such, building clumps of infantry as bait helps to mitigate your damage from Meteor Strike.
Power Cost: 500,000G
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Sturm
(Vs. Mode)
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Sturm’s units have 20% extra defensive power and movement costs of 1 in clear and rainy weather. Their attacks are 20% weaker, however. Vs. Mode Sturm cannot be used in War Room.
Meteor Strike: A meteor is pulled from space. It has a radius of 3 spaces and damages all targets for 4HP of damage. Units are boosted by 12%, in both attack and defence.
Extra Info: This version of Sturm is very different from his Campaign counterpart. Rather than rushing, Vs. Mode Sturm makes better use of his abilities to get to areas with increased defences, such as reefs, forests and mountains. Use indirect-combat units to soften the enemy up a little, then finish with directs in order to set up a wall for your opponents to try and break through. Naturally, this will be difficult for them. Meteor Strike isn’t as much of a gamebreaker as it is in Campaign-mode or AW2, so instead use it to weaken enemies a bit before attacking. Just remember that, damage aside, it works the same as Campaign-mode Meteor Strike, so baiting it with Infantry is still possible.
Power Cost: 500,000G
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