Advance Wars 4 (AwDoR) Balance Patch by Gippy

Base Game: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (U)
Release Date: 3rd May 2020
Version 1.1: Download (XDELTA Format)
Short Description: This patch does 3 things:

  • Balance the COs. As well, all English information screens are re-worded to reflect the stat changes.
  • Adds a turn timer of approximately 5 minutes. (The exact timer is 4:58.65 due to coding quirkiness.) This should be plenty of time for remote desktop play.
  • Cracks Nintendo’s SSL authentication protection, allowing the game to connect to altwfc servers. Note that there still isn’t an emulator that can reliably do wi-fi play for everyone, thus this is currently only good for those with DS flashcarts.

The ROM required for this patch must be a clean North American version of Advance Wars 4, called Days of Ruin. This is ROM #1964. The patch’s checksum looks for an untrimmed copy of the ROM. The output will be a trimmed, patched ROM.

Need an XDELTA patcher? For Windows users, Delta Patcher works great.

VERSION CHANGELOG

1.1: 2020/05/05

  • Fixed a bug where it didn’t patch properly with a clean ROM.
  • All COs now only provide the default 110/110 zone boost to sea units and seaplanes. They are unaffected by CO powers, except Greyfield’s CO power (Supply Chain). This is to discourage the use of the navy in the metagame. Though all COs now have equal sea units, COs with boosted copters and bombers still hold a significant advantage when it comes to naval combat.
  • Adjusted the following COs:

[BUFF] GAGE
130/130 indirect & sea > 140/130 indirect

Gage now has the best artillery in the game to make up for having the worst COU in the game, as players typically create their COU with a direct-fire unit. The important matchup is that 140A artillery vs. 120D bike/mech is 99%. With every other low-tier character improving, Gage needed a bit of an extra push to stand out.

[REWORKED] GREYFIELD
400D non-attacking units > 140/120 tech units (F11000+)

The idea of Greyfield having 400D t-copters was tested and short-lived. During testing, Greyfield just spammed mechs and t-copters, and it wasn’t very enjoyable to play out. To keep in line with his appreciation of shock and awe, Greyfield now boosts all tech units. A tech unit is defined as any unit costing at least F11000, so he affects 8 units: mdtank, wartank, antitank, rockets, missiles, duster, bomber, and fighter. Hopefully this plays out well!

1.0: 2020/05/03 – Initial release

For the initial release, the changes are mostly slight stat tweaks, with the exception of Caulder and Greyfield. No CO powers have been modified. Intelligent Systems was very close to balancing this game perfectly, which is remarkable given the fact that the damage formula was changed from AW3 to AW4, and they had no prior data about PvP play.

[NERF] CAULDER
3 zone > 1 zone
160/160 all > 130/130 all
+5 HP/day (costs funds) > +1 HP/day (costs funds)

Caulder was overwhelming, arguably the most broken commanding officer (CO) in Advance Wars history due to his monster stat boost and daily healing. He has been heavily nerfed to a playable level. His CO unit (COU) is now slightly better than Lin’s. As a trade-off for his daily healing and ability to boost air units, Caulder is stuck at 1 zone, while Lin’s zone can grow.

[NERF] ISABELLA
120/120 all > 120/110 all

Isabella was also typically banned in PvP play. She had good stats and the best CO power (COP) in the game, thus making her a no-brainer choice. By nerfing her units to 120/110, she now has the weakest zone boost. Will has better mechs, and Gage has better artillery. But her COP still combines both of Will’s and Gage’s COPs for the ultimate versatility.

[NO CHANGE] BRENNER, LIN, WILL

These COs were considered the top 3 for PvP. They set the competitive standard, so they don’t need to be changed. Lin has the best stats of the three, but her COP only serves to extend her zone to affect the entire map. This is good design: having a weaker COP in exchange for better stats.

[BUFF] FORSYTHE
120/120 all > 120/130 all

Forsythe wasn’t used much because Brenner at 110/130 had an almost equivalent stat boost, but had a COP to go with it. Now you can decide whether you want Forsythe’s better stats, or Brenner’s strong COP.

[BUFF] GAGE
130/120 indirect & sea > 130/130 indirect & sea

Gage’s indirect land units are now 130/130 just like Lin’s. But his direct land and air units are still 110/110. This gives him the weakest COU in the game, as you typically don’t want to make your COU an indirect unit. If this causes Gage to become the worst CO, he’ll be boosted to 140/130 in the next patch.

[BUFF] PENNY
110/110 all > 120/120 all

Penny had been underwhelming in PvP due to her inferior stats. Buffing her to 120/120 puts her to just below Forsythe in stats, but she has her random weather COP. Sandstorm weather still afflicts -30A to the enemy. May the odds be in your favor.

[BUFF] TABITHA
160/160 all > 170/160 all (190/180 COU)

This one may be surprising. In the early days of PvP, Tabitha was considered broken. However, players learned to work around Tabitha’s COU and bully her non-zone units. A slight boost to her attack allows her some increased pressure and a few more guaranteed 1HKOs, while still keeping her distinction of having the highest attack stat in the game.

[BUFF] TASHA
150/130 air > 160/140 air

A slight boost to her attack guarantees that her COU copter will 1HKO a city tank, and a slight defense boost will ensure it can better survive a 130A antiair hit, especially after receiving chip damage. She’s still a glass cannon, but note that an enemy 110A antiair vs. Tasha’s 160/140 bomber will now receive enough counterattack damage to lose 4-5 or 3-5.

[BUFF] WAYLON
130/140 air > 130/160 air

Waylon gets a +0/+20 boost to match the +10/+10 boost of Tasha. He’s a solid endgame CO because he can end the game with mass bombers and his COP. But he’ll have difficulty getting there due to his inferior land units.

[REWORKED] GREYFIELD
400D non-attacking units (rig, t-copter, lander), 110/110 other

Greyfield had to be completely reworked, as there were already two air specialist COs, and Greyfield only boosted copters. He has been given a gimmick fitting of his COP, allowing him to wall with rigs and t-copters. Whether or not this makes him any good is up in the air, but this should at least add a unique playstyle to the game. Will massing rigs be any good when they’re 4HKO walls? We’ll have to see to find out!

Previous Versions:

Version 1.0: Download (XDELTA Format)