Camp

Make sure to visit the Operation Room before starting on any sortie. Often, suggestions will be made on how to complete the battle with some ease.

Before each battle, check the Formation Room to see if the soldiers you've picked up in the previous battle are better than the once you currently have. Most times, they are, and they have better skills. Also , feel free to rotate different squad types so as to balance out your character's squad commanding ability.

AFWs

Each AFW type has their own optimum fighting distance and fighting strategies you must employ.

Standard AFW - Used by Weizegger and Ryoko, this AFW is best at medium distance when using the cannon. While not strong in long and short distance, they do have the ability to engage in Close Combat and carry shields which give them some extra protection. With decent armor and good damage-causing ability, the standard AFW will probably be the backbone to your offense.

Vs. - Standard AFWs are difficult to fight against. Attack them from long or short range to minimize their attack capacity, but beware their ability for close combat. Use the Wire or Electrical Wire skill to keep them in place. A 4-Leg AFW at Long Range can handle one of these well.

Light AFW - Used by Kinisato and Jun, this AFW is best when used at close to medium range. While light in armor and weapon strength, their speed can be an asset. If going up against a larger, more powerful AFW, feel free to start off by using the "Dodge" skill to avoid normal fire. Since they have no Close Combat abilities, keep them out of such combat. Using Dodge will sometimes cause the attack to miss.

Vs. - Stay between medium and long-range with them, unless you chose to engage in close combat. Standard and Anti-AFWs are strong against these.

4-Leg AFW - Used by John and Ayana , this AFW is best used at long range. In fact, if you give them a Supply crew with good speed, a 4-Leg AFW is dangerous at long range. During the day, you can get off shots with regular quickness and damage like this. Also, make sure to give them good ground support to make quick work of enemy AFWs.

Vs. - Get close to the 4-leg AFWs. Close combat against them is one sided and in your best interest.

Anti-AFW - Used by Ippei and Emilio , this AFW is good in short range and brutal in close combat. This AFW's strength relies on strong ground support against soldiers. Don't expect it to do great damage against the ground troops, but do expect it to end a lot of battles with close combat. Use Anti-AFWs against Light and 4-Leg AFWs to keep from getting counterattacked in close combat.

Vs. - Play keep away with them. Stay out of close combat range as much as possible. Use Wire or Electrical Wire to keep them from charging you.

Soldiers

Infantry - Normal troops that really only do decent damage against ground troops. Rapid Fire and Co-Operation really help to thin out the ranks. Good ground support, but don' expect many other capabilities.

Shooter - Armed with rocket launchers, these troops excel at anti-AFW warfare. Great support for those weak against AFWs. Both Homing Shot and Charging Fire are great versus AFWs. Don't expect any help against ground troops, though. Sometimes, they can also be useful as Crew.

Supply - While not overly great in combat, supply soldiers are great as Crew or in the rearguard. Supply troops help do minor repairs and cleanup. The only decent offense attack they might have is the Grenade attack.

Medics - Only use these troops as support. They often won't help in combat, but are useful when you use the Recover option on the field. Having a medic around will increase your troop recovery.

Mechanic - Along with Supply, Mechanics make pretty good crew. They excellent at laying of cleaning mines and are only decent in combat.

Recon - Recon troops increase the AFWs initial ability to hit the target. Putting one in your team will increase you hit percentage some. They also have the Snipe ability, which is effective in targeting enemy troops.

Shooting

If time is running down, try to squeeze off a final shot. Even if it's at a low percentage, it's better to try. Some times, the last shot will land.

Use special ammo to your benefit. No aiming is required to launch special ammo. This is beneficial when you've been hit with a smoke bomb and your hit percentage is low.

Don't be afraid to pull the trigger a little early. Any shot taken between 60 and 75% seems to have about the same chance of hitting.

Try to get the first shot in. Any AFW that takes a hit will have it's hit percentage dropped, thereby taking them longer to fire back.

Combat

Always try to keep at least one squad with the Illumination Shot ability to help you when fighting at night. Lighting your enemies area will help your shot percentage immensely.

Don't rush in at the start of a battle. Often, sending one squad forward will ensure their doom. Enemy troops love to lie in wait, ganging up on the first man out the gate.

Finish off enemies who are near death before they can run away. If you let an enemy get away, they'll manage to come back to haunt you.

Take a turn or two in between skirmishes to heal up. If there's a city or village nearby, head there. Healing and repair are increased in these areas.

Use terrain to your advantage. While it may not affect your battle, rougher terrain will lengthen the amount of time until that character's next turn.

Don't blow all of your maximum attacks in one skirmish, even if you think the battle is almost over. Reinforcements have a way of showing up when you feel the battle is won.

Don't try to engage special enemies (Kaiho, etc.) with only one AFW. Since you will often be outmatched by them, try to engage them with a couple of AFWs. Try and save them for late in the battle.

Always check the turn list (by using the Start or Circle Buttons) and gauge the enemy's range before moving into combat. Knowing how many enemies will be in range when your turn is over may change where you decide to move. Move range is highlighted in blue. Combat range is highlighted in gold.

Keep an eye on the health of your troops in combat. If one squad is taking heavy casualties, move them to the rearguard.

Getting out of a fight

Nobody likes to run away, but sometimes, you have to get out of a fight to keep from going down. In long range, you can back out of the battle area. At short range, if you have close combat capability, you can engage your opponent and hope for the best. Any round of close combat will end the combat round. If you and your opponent both lack close combat abilities, move in close. This will keep either of you from initiating an attack.