Koco Games’ strategy mobile title called War Troops 1917 plays a lot like a tower defense game, where the battlefield is a vertical stretch with both camps being on the opposing ends of the field. As deployed troops will either camp on trenches or continue to march forward, having your troops reach the enemy’s flag earns you victory and vice versa. There are various troops to unlock, upgrade, and utilize in combat, each with its own unique qualities. Most battles center on the utilization of trenches randomly scattered across the battlefield.
The 8-bit style of graphics utilized by War Troops 1917 is actually an indication of its simplistic gameplay. Matches are fast-paced and very straightforward with only cooldown periods for troop deployment serving as the sole delimiter in spamming the battlefield with troops. There are neither costs nor timers involved making the conflict itself your only concern.
As soon as you launch the game, War Troops 1917 treats you to a quick match that serves as the tutorial, enabling you to fully grasp the controls and mechanics of the game within a minute. Considering everything, War Troops 1917 is very easy to pick up and play especially given that various strategies can be used to win matches easily.
Now, if you need some help to progress faster and overwhelm your enemies, then stay with us and read our comprehensive War Troops 1917 beginner’s guide below! We have gathered a bunch of useful tips and strategies to help you dominate each battle!
1. Get To Know Each Troop And Air Unit Type
Most especially on the initial stages, the differences in each army type’s strengths and limitations is hardly noticeable. In truth. Any army type can be used exclusively to win you most battles, although some, on its own, will provide a much more challenging conquest to push through. Before proceeding to the next battle stage, or even considering unlocking or upgrading any of the troops and air units, you should look into each one’s starting stats and description to know how best to use them in battle.
The soldier is the most basic troop type and is at the bottom of the list as far as damage and health are concerned. These traits does not stop them from being a valuable unit to always take to battle as these are the only unit types that deploy in a group of 4. Despite the low health and damage of each one, they can still win in a battle of numbers and with the lowest cooldown period to deploy, you can very much spam the field faster with troops if you utilize them well.
The officer might appear to be an improved version of the soldier but these units work very differently. They come in pairs and have shorter range than soldiers although higher damage, health, and speed more than makes up for it. Deploying them after the soldiers will ensure that they will catch up, although it takes a much longer time for them to be available once a cooldown initiates.
The machine gunner might seem ordinary based on the stats except for his range, which exceeds that of most other units. Machine gunners are deployed in pairs as well and although the rate of fire is not reflected on the stats, it is what makes them powerful damage-dealers. Machine gunners are one of the slowest units as well so they will usually lag behind in a march.
One of the best campers in trenches is the sniper as this unit professes the longest range in War Troops 1917. It takes a while to summon them in battle and they will only appear one at a time. Their range may be their only advantage but can be a huge advantage on defense.
The flame thrower is the highest damage-dealer in the game and, as such, takes a longer period of time to become deployable. Flame throwers also come as a single unit and all his stats are well above average. While he can easily decimate opponents he encounters, long-range units can easily outgun him.
The next unit is what we consider as the best of the bunch. The Mark V is the only tank you can unlock and has decent overall stats and can ignore trenches in its path. It is one of the units that takes the longest time to deploy, but using it can definitely make it very easy for you to win battles once you unlock it.
The grenade infantry specializes in AoE damage and can eliminate groups of units with his grenades. He is also one of the fastest moving units under your command, making him a viable runner if you want to secure the next trench in the stage. The grenade infantry is also deployed as a single unit.
The SMG trooper serves as the beefed-up version of the basic soldier and is equal to the grenade infantry in terms of speed. These units are deployed in tandem and have a fast rate of fire as well. SMG troopers excel in levels where there are no trenches and can give you an advantage in combat on plain grounds.
The trench shotgun has one of the shortest ranges in the available line-up of troops but these units excel in close combat. The lack of range gives them a huge disadvantage in typical confrontations and are best kept as a last ditch effort for when enemies are close to reaching your flag.
The armored car works very much like the Mark V with its own set of advantages and limitations. It can be deployed much faster and lags behind just a bit in terms of firepower. The armored car significantly has lower health than the Mark V but its biggest drawback comes with its unlock price of 3,500 coins.
The mortar is an air unit that can be used a lot more often than the rest. While it can contribute to damage, though, its accuracy is largely based on luck so you may want to replace it with another as soon as you unlock them.
The grenade unleashes a nerve gas that can slowly kill enemy units. This will have no effect on the Mark V and armored car, but it is essential for clearing large crowds of soldiers camping inside a trench. If the nerve gas do not kill soldiers in the trench, at the very least it will prompt them to charge and be at least on equal footing with your soldiers.
The anti tank stands up to its name as an effective counter against enemy vehicles. It can also be used to clear groups of enemies hiding behind a trench but often best saved for its more important purpose. The F1 Camel Fighter is a good air support to cut down the health of enemy troops. It sprays fire across a line and may not instantly kill on hit, but it does weaken both human and vehicular units along the way.
The heavy bomber works much like the anti tank. It can deal massive damage to enemies within its range of blast and comes in handy against both armored vehicles and a large crowd of enemy troops.
In truth, it is not necessary to unlock all units to beat all levels in War Troops 1917. Having a wide variety of troops at your disposal, however, adds a ton of fun and different ways to engage enemies in the trenches and no man’s land. Knowing what each unit can do gives you a sense of what to prioritize in terms of unlocking and upgrading, as well as which ones to utilize depending on the field’s layout.
2. Maintain A Balanced Deck For Each Battle
The deck you use on each battle is basically a combination of ground troops and air support. You will initially have a limited number of slots to work with but as you unlock and recruit more units, more slots will be added. You can have a maximum of 8 slots and the combination of units you can bring along can be divided any way you want across ground troops and air support.
It is very attractive to consider mostly ground troops in the array of units you bring along. For one, ground troops have a more permanent effect and you have a bit more control as to how long some of them will last. Air support types have temporary, short-term effects and each one takes a while to become available.
On the other hand, utilizing ground troops alone will set you at a disadvantage given that enemies will always have a combination of ground troops and air support at their disposal. Air support typically provide burst damage that can eliminate troublesome enemy units with relative ease.
One big point to consider is that all ground units, except the land mine, fall within the same cooldown timer. Deploying any soldier or combat vehicle initiates the cooldown period and you will have to wait again to deploy any type of unit. Air support units have cooldown timers independent of one another and, in this sense, can be strategically utilized to fire all at the same time.
The ratio of how you want to divide your deck between both ground troops and air support is up to you, based on your preferences and play style but, for starters, at least carry one air support unit with you for emergencies.
3. Always Push Forward With The Campaign
While there are currently no other game modes available in War Troops 1917, and you are naturally traversing a straight line from one stage to the next, there is always an option to replay previously conquered levels for a fraction of coins and experience that can be earned. In some cases, experiencing defeat in some levels may prompt you to do so but what you should instead do is try the current level again with a different approach.
Gold coins are naturally important, as you need them to unlock, recruit, and upgrade troops for your army. Coins can also be used to unlock some terrains that stay inaccessible for 12 hours after you reach them. You also want to rack up some experience points and reach a higher player level as upgrade caps are dependent on it.
It may be hard to notice at first but the amount of experience points and gold coins you earn per battle increases as you reach higher levels. In effect, replaying previously beaten levels also give you higher rewards. While there is nothing wrong with replaying levels, we recommend only doing so if you are absolutely certain that you cannot push against the next one.
4. Focus On Unlocking The Mark V
Having a wide variety of units to unlock, hire, and use in combat can make War Troops 1917 a very exciting game. You may easily be inclined to spend coins on upgrades each battle or at the main screen as you would want nothing more but to have more powerful units for the battles to come. While upgrades and purchases each contribute to giving you an advantage in combat, nothing comes close to the edge you get out of unlocking the Mark V.
As we mentioned earlier, we consider the Mark V as the best unit in War Troops 1917. Despite what its stat says, using this unit makes you almost impossible to experience defeat. The anti tank and heavy bomber air support can make short work of it, and it does take a while to become available for deployment. However, you can see it plow through enemy troops and bunkers easily even without any upgrades.
The Mark V costs only 500 coins to unlock. If you played enough stages and hold on to your coins right from the start, you can easily unlock it before reaching the third terrain. All units cost the same as far as upgrades are concerned, which means that every bit of investment made on the Mark V, is the best investment option as well.
While spending the rest of your coins to unlock, hire, and upgrade all other units is up to you, we highly recommend that you prioritize this powerhouse to help you clear all stages much faster.
5. Utilize Trenches Strategically
War Troops 1917 is actually subtitled as a trench warfare WW1 strategy game and it’s for good reason. Although some levels in the game actually do not have trenches in them, most levels have at least 2 in them. Trenches are among the game’s features for strategic planning and tactical warfare and it is best to understand how to utilize them to get the upper hand in any confrontation.
Like in real war devoid of armored vehicles, defending soldiers in trenches are always at an advantage. Although they may lose numbers against an army charging against them, the fatality count in the opposing team will always be several folds greater. This holds true for most aspect of War Troops 1917 as well and playing defensively by stationing troops in trenches, can give you advantage in a confrontation.
Each trench can hold 3 sets of troops regardless of number. This means that 12 soldiers or 3 snipers will max out its capacity and, at max capacity, the next soldiers to approach the trench will continue to move forward. If you noticed, a lock icon appears at the right side of the trench as your troops first approach it.
This means that troops will stay at the trench when they reach it unless it is at maximum capacity or you command them to push forward with the icon next to the lock. Stationed troops will have their icons displayed as well and you can click on each to send the trenched troops forward.
In general, camping at trenches is an ideal defense as well as a natural preparatory phase for a massive attack. However, keep in mind that enemies will have access to a variety of air support units that can tremendously damage your trenched units. As such, you should always keep an eye out for when the first salvo hits. In any case, you should not have your troops camp in trenches too long as it will always be an attractive spot for enemies to cast their air assaults on.
In the same manner, you should also pattern part of your offensive strategies to enemies that are using the trenches to gain advantage in battle. If you see a large number of enemy troops camping in trenches, then charging on ahead can wipe out your troops while they are marching forward.
Instead, you should wait for them to start marching forward or even push them to do so with a shot of a nerve gas grenade. Once you have access to using a Mark V or even an armored vehicle, enemy soldiers in trenches can be easily dealt with by utilizing your vehicles to “tank” the rest of your forces.
Marching in large groups, even if not against enemies in trenches, puts your army at risk. Although we recommend saving all your air support units on trenched enemies, the enemy team will consider dropping bombs and grenades on your marching troops.
Though the casualty may not always be as high, it seems that even the enemy’s mortar blasts have more luck than yours in hitting its targets. As such, try to march your troops with some distance between them to ensure that they will not suffer heavy casualty in case of a bombardment.
6. There Is No Need To Rush
Although War Troops 1917 is designed to be a fast-paced strategy game, and given as well that it is not recommended to have your soldiers camp at trenches for too long, it is not necessarily bad to take as much time as you need in readying an assault. Continuously pumping units out into the field may win you a battle, but in most cases, it will just take a lot longer to win, or even make a win possible.
What you should consider is grouping units together using the trenches before launching them. While some units may already be camped at trenches, you still have selection choices as to which sets will you push to march forward first. This will naturally be dependent on the enemy or situation ahead of the battlefield.
Relative to this, make it a point to deploy the unit that takes the longest time to recharge first. For example, if you have already acquired the Mark V, you should consider launching it ahead of everyone else. Doing so will your frontrunner a head start although some troops are very much capably of catching up to it especially since it will come to a halt during standoffs.
In any case, consider to always launch coordinated assaults and avoid sending units exclusively on their own unless there is no choice. This tactic will create a different scenario in battle stages where there are no trenches. As your troops will continue to move forward like combat vehicles it is important to consider timing in deployment based on the movement speed of each unit.
In any case, the biggest threats to watch out for are trenches anyway so if the battlegrounds are just a plain stretch of land, then you can deviate from the joint strategies and deploy troops continuously.
7. Save Your Special Weapons For Tough Battles
Beyond the ground troops and the air support units, you also have access to special weapons you can use in combat. These weapons are difficult to earn and cost a lot of coins to purchase in the store. The reinforcement will actually be used as part of the tutorial, and while the extra deployment of troops is always good, remember that it will summon a random assortment of units with each use.
You can access the special weapons through their respective icons at the upper left side of the battle screen. In contrast with the reinforcement tool, the artillery will bombard enemies and can easily turn the tide of battle in your favor. The medic kit, on the other hand is not as impressive to use, considering that most of your units will be instantly killed when shot or bombarded. However, the med kit may just save a bunch of them from a nerve gas grenade explosion.
8. Grab Extra Coins And Play Offline
There aren’t a lot of opportunities to earn free stuff on War Troops 1917 but you can earn loads of extra coins through some in-game offers at the main screen. The first one invites you to provide a review of the game and if you played and enjoyed War Troops 1719 enough, then you should consider doing so. Another offer is for you to send invites to your friends to play the game.
Well, there are currently no multiplayer options in the game yet but if you feel that sharing the game with your friends will be appreciated, then you can quickly accomplish this feat as well.
Although actually doing these activities are okay, the trick is that you can actually click on the buttons and proceed to be taken to you browser or the store. You can quickly press the back button on your device to get back to the game and receive the coin rewards immediately.
Another simple trick to try is playing the game offline. If you are the type of player who simply cannot stand waitching a random ad at the end of each level, then you may want to consider turning off your Wi-Fi before playing the game.
There is nothing to lose out of it as there are no ads in the game that provide extra rewards. If you feel that you really enjoyed the game and appreciate it, though, and want to support the developers, then continue to play online and just ignore the ads as they play.
Relative to these simple tricks, another fun way to play War Troops is with a custom battle. This is like a hidden game mode found under the settings menu, which can be accessed through the gear icon at the upper right corner of the main screen. You can play a custom battle once you reach player level 20 and the amount of customization options in the game mode will all be available.
It is a good way to test some units out if you have not unlocked them yet. Likewise, setting the A.I. opponent to the highest difficulty setting can train you to take on any kind of threat in the campaign mode.
These are all the tips and strategies we have come up for our War Troops 1917 beginner’s guide. We certainly hope that the tips we shared will prove to help you dominate each level in the game. If you have played War Troops 1917 extensively enough and have discovered your very own tips and strategies, feel free to share them with us via the comment section!
Noah
Sunday 18th of July 2021
I can only deploy 3 soldiers instead of 4