This is an excerpt of my original Hostile Waters guide on Gamefaqs.com.

All weapons in HW use self-replicating munitions, and thus have infinite ammo. Firing time can be improved by a recharge device (see "Devices Briefing"), but that comes pretty late in the game (mission 16).



Range low, firing rate high, damage low, shot speed fast, cost 250 ej, available mission 2

Scalpel is a general-purpose chain gun that can destroy just about anything, both on the ground and in the air, but the low-range (about 100 meters) means you'll get hit as well. While damage is low, it has high firing rate so it does plenty of damage.

Give vehicles armed with this the heaviest armor and shields you got, as the enemies will tend to concentrate on it, being the closest target.



Range medium, firing rate medium, damage low, shot speed medium, cost 250
ej, available mission 4

Longbow is the perfect complement to Scalpel, having a longer range (about 280 meters) but slower firing rate. The missiles are self-guiding, but tend to miss at close range, another reason it complements Scalpel.

If you are using this under direct control, get a lock-on before firing. If you don't lock on, the missiles won't guide, so you won't hit a moving target.

Longbow is good on both air and ground units.



Range very long, firing rate low, damage low, shot speed extreme, cost 2000
ej, available mission 7

Rapier is a VERY long-range weapon, almost like a sniper rifle. It recharges slowly (compared to other weapons) and does little damage, but if the enemy can't shoot back, who cares?

Rapier is best used to take out defense turrets and such that cannot move to engage you.

If you take control of a Rapier-equipped unit, you can use the Zoom feature to zoom in up to 16X for precise targeting. In fact, this is recommended (besides putting Madsen on the job).

Remember to back up Rapier-mounted vehicles with other weapons like Longbow and Scalpel. It doesn't do much damage so it needs a LOT of shots to kill an enemy. A typical AAA turret takes like 10-11 shots from a Rapier.



Range long, firing rate low, damage N/A, shot speed slow, cost 250 ej,
available mission 10

Arclight does NOT damage the enemy. Instead, it disables the enemy for about 90 seconds. It can be used to disable AAA for other weapons to destroy it.

Arclight is virtually useless against moving targets (air or ground) as its "shot" is EXTREMELY slow moving. However, you COULD use it to disable AAA turrets so your other air units can kill one before it comes back online.

There is only ONE mission you need to use Arclight, to disable the subs. If used against one of those subs, the effects are permanent. At other time it's probably not needed.



Range long, firing rate low, damage high, shot speed medium, cost 1250 ej,
available mission 11

Warhammer is a long-range howitzer adapted to modular weaponry. It does good damage and has tremendous range, but lousy reload time. The shot takes a while to arrive, so again, virtually useless against moving targets. It also causes quite a bit of "splash" damage, so don't use in close proximity of friendly units.

Warhammer's range can exceed visual range of your units. If you can get a spotter into range (via a chopper or a cloaked Puma) you can launch strikes from behind a hill, for a truly devastating fire mission. Range of a Warhammer is in excess of 400 m.

Sometimes the rounds, due to the arc, hit the hill next to the target instead of directly impacting the target. If that's the case (you fired a lot of rounds for no effect), move left or right, then try again.

If you are using Warhammer manually, use the impact camera (viewer on the left) and try to adjust the trajectory with it.

Warhammer is only useful against ground units. It will NOT target any air units. On the other hand, you may hit one by accident. So keep the air units a little away from the howitzers.

Warhammer's shots takes like 2-3 seconds to arrive, so it tends to waste shots.

Warhammer's cannon can be used as a direct-fire weapon with a HUGE damage radius (compared to other weapons). Fire them into a group of enemy walkers and see them explode into gibblets.

While Warhammer CAN be placed on a chopper, don't do it. Chopper is too unstable for a proper firing of an artillery piece. You have to be point-blank to get a hit. Put Warhammer on a tank or a hovercraft instead.

In the end, Warhammer become your primary weapon. While you still need other weapons to take care of attackers, Warhammer is your best weapon to bust turrets and other fixed defenses.



Range point-blank, firing rate high, damage medium, cost 500 ej, available
mission 14

Firestorm has one use: to burn bugs and bug buildings. Due to short-range, it's best to clean out the surrounding area of enemies before you bring in the flamethrower.

Due to the short range, Firestorm is only useful against ground targets. However, it can be mounted on choppers and can be quite useful as a quick demolition tool.

It can do 10% of damage to bug buildings in like 3 seconds, with full charge. Once the charge is exhausted, the burning gets quite a bit slower.

Remember to read the "Stealth Kamikaze" tactic, among others.

If a single bug unit challenges a Firestorm unit, let it engage. If a swarm comes, run.

You can add all sorts of devices to your units if they have device bays for
them, all of them helpful in one way or another.



Available mission 1, 3x3 device, cost 250 ej

Fits in Scarab and Behemoth. Makes the unit "red".

Recycler unit gives the equipped unit ability to scan and absorb wreckage and structures full of metal and energy so it can be used by the Antaeus' "creation engine" to build other things.

This is your RTS "harvester" soaking up metal and energy on the battlefield. It can move into hostile territory, so be careful if you leave it completely alone.



Available mission 2, 1x1 device, cost 350 ej

Fits in all units except Vulture and Magpie (no bay)

Also called ablative armor, this adds on extra set of armor in addition to the built-in armor for more survivability.

Best combined with shield. Shield regenerates, armor does not.



Available mission 2, 1x1 device, cost 100 ej

Fits in all units except Vulture and Magpie (no bay)

Gives the unit an AI personality so it can do a bit of independent thinking, such as automatically engage visible enemies, fly to certain location and perform certain tasks, and so on. You can't do everything by yourself, so don't. Use a chip to help out. Remember some profiles are better at certain tasks.

There are SOME cases where you do need to control a craft to do things yourself, esp. when you've used everybody.



Available mission 5, 3x3 device, cost 3000 ej

Fits in Scarab and Behemoth. Makes the unit "green".

Repairs the vehicle to mint condition, subject to time, using nanotech. The more expensive the vehicle and more damage the vehicle has sustained, the longer repairs will take.

If you put this in unit with Soulcatcher chip, the unit will automatically repair all friendly units in sensor range.



Available mission 9, 1x2 device, cost 1000 ej

Fits in all units except Vulture and Magpie (no bay)

Makes the vehicle invisible to visible wavelengths, but NOT silent, NOR invisible to radar.

Cloak is best used on a Puma, which has a stealth profile (supposedly). Don't get too close to enemy radars either to make sure you don't get spotted.

If enemy bumps into a cloaked unit, they will know where to shoot, and usually that means the end of that unit. If you are going to leave a cloaked unit alone, find a spot that will NOT be in an enemy's path.



Available mission 14, 1x2 device, cost 1000 ej

Shield is a true energy and deflector shield that protects the equipped unit from damage, both ballistic and energy. While not capable of deflect as much damage as armor, shield will "recharge" over time.

You can use multiple shields in the same unit.

Do NOT combine shield with cloak. Cloak operation requires that the shield be disabled.



Available mission 16, 1x2 device, cost 1500 ej

Fits in all units except Vulture and Magpie (no bays)

Increases firing rate of all weapons (by how much? 50%? 100%? Probably 100%) Generally, not needed. Your module space is probably better served by shield or armor.

There are four types of units in HW: land, amphibious, air, and utility. This section is about land units.

NOTE: The hardpoints just means how many weapons you select will it carry. You cannot mix and match weapons (like 1 Longbow and 1 Scalpel) if the unit has 2 hardpoints. It will carry two of the same weapon.

Land combat units can only fight on land, not on water or in air. They include both tracked and wheeled vehicles. Magpie or Pegasus must transport them to their destination.

Being land units, their speed is limited, but they usually are able to carry more armor and have larger device bays than their amphib or air cousins (except Puma, but that's an exception).


1x3 bay, 1 hardpoint, available mission 9, cost 150 ej

Puma is a light recon buggy. It has paper-thin armor so the equipment bay is best left for a cloak. Its best use is as an artillery spotter for Antaeus "main battery" or for Warhammer-equipped units.


Stealth Scout Config
Scalpel chaingun, cloak, soulcatcher. Total Cost = 1250

In general, you should NEVER fire that gun, but you have to fit one in, so pick a VERY short-range one. Find an empty spot to park and just act as a spotter for the heavy guns.


Stealth Spotter / Kamikaze Config
Firestorm flamethrower, cloak, soulcatcher. Total Cost = 1500

The Stealth Spotter/Kamikaze config is used for the times where you need to fry some enemy buildings IMMEDIATELY instead of doing the regular kill energy production, then storage, then production facilities. Find an empty spot to park and just act as a spotter for the Antaeus main guns, then kamikaze the building with Firestorm and fry it. Boom! No more production. Repeat for other production buildings.



5 @ 1x2 bays, 1 hardpoint, available mission 11, cost 650 ej

Rhino, when equipped with a Warhammer, is a great assault platform. It doesn't do that well against moving targets, however. Definitely bring air cover.

When you have enough energy, add more armor and shield as applicable.


Fire support / assault config
Warhammer, armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = ???? ej

Your normal fire support config. Remember to make some escorts too.


Close Escort Config
Scalpel, 4 x shields and 1xarmor, soulcatcher. Total cost = ????

Close escort config are designed take incoming fire and defend the Warhammer-equipped Rhino from enemy units.


Mid-range Escort Config
Longbow, 2 x shields and 3 x armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = ????

This one engages the enemy at longer range, thus needing less shields.



1 @ 3x5 bay, 2 hardpoints, available mission 19, cost 900 ej

With a HUGE cargo bay, Behemoth is very flexible. With twin hardpoints, it can also be deadly. However, it doesn't move fast. Escort! Escort!

Consider slapping a Recycler unit in the Behemoth so it can both take out enemy structures AND absorb them for your use.

There are essentially four types of units: land combat units, amphibious combat units, air combat units, and utility units. This section is about the amphibious/hover units.

The hardpoints just means how many weapons you select will it carry. You cannot mix and match weapons (like 1 Longbow and 1 Scalpel).

In HW, the hovercrafts are amphibious with excellent speed and mobility. However, it cannot carry as much equipment or armor as its landlocked cousins. They can self-deploy without using a lifter like Magpie or Pegasus. They represent a compromise between armor of the land-units and the speed of the air units.



1 @ 1x3 bay, 1 @ 1x1 bay, 1 hardpoint, available mission 5, cost 400 ej

Salamander is basically a combat hovercraft. Its default armor is adequate.

Fitted with a Rapier or Warhammer, they can blow up enemy guns from very long range. However, they need protection from air threats. Try to escort them with Hornets until the coast is clear.

Fitted with Longbow, they are nice mobile multi-purpose attackers.


Dual-Purpose Config, single/double/triple armor
Longbow missile, 1/2/3 x armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = 1100/1450/1800 ej

This config is good for both anti-air and general combat against ground units and structures. It has a decent firing rate and range.


Laser Config, single/double/triple armor
Rapier laser, 1/2/3 x armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = 2850/3200/3550 ej

This "sniper" rig is great for dealing damage from afar. Take out AA towers and such from far away, and let your escorts take care of incoming enemy units.


Fire Support Config, single/double/triple armor
Warhammer cannon, 1/2/3 x armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = 2100/2450/2800 ej

Need a Puma or a Hornet as a spotter, but otherwise quite deadly with great mobility.


Burner Config, single/double/triple armor
Firestorm flamethrower, 1/2/3 x armor, soulcatcher. Total cost = 1350/1700/2050 ej

Zip in there, burn the structure, zip out. Still, lack of armor means it should be left in the rear area until the enemy has been cleared from the area.



2 @ 1x3 bays, 2 hardpoints, available mission 16, cost 950 ej

Shark is basically the land equivalent of the Phoenix... It has double the firepower, excellent armor, big equipment bay, and more than double the cost.

Same config suggestions as Salamander.

There are essentially four types of units: land combat units, amphibious combat units, air combat units, and utility units. This section is about the air units.

The hardpoints just means how many weapons you select will it carry. You cannot mix and match weapons (like 1 Longbow and 1 Scalpel).

Air combat unit has the highest speed but generally the least amount of room for onboard expansions (and armor and shields and such).



2 @ 1x1 bays, 1 @ 1x2 bay, 1 hardpoint, available mission 2, cost 150 ej

A light and fast attack chopper, it has no problem killing other similar air units. In fact, you don't get a better air unit until mission 15, when the Phoenix becomes available.

Most weapons will fit in this chopper. However, due to it having only one hardpoint, it is better to pair these choppers for more firepower. (i.e. send them out in pairs)

One combo is Scalpel chaingun paired with Longbow missiles (on two separate choppers!)

A Hornet with Rapier laser is a great AAA killer, though it'll take it a long time.

Firestorm on a Hornet makes a fast-moving nest-killer. Just make sure there are no air-threats for it at the target.

Hornet CAN be cloaked, and makes a great spotter. However, remember that AAA works off radar, not visual wavelengths. Cloaked puma is more survivable as a spotter.


Dual-Purpose Config, single/double/triple armor
Scalpel or Longbow, soulcatcher, 1/2/3 x armor. Total cost = ?

When you're tight on energy, single armor is enough, but don't expect such a craft to last very long unless the enemy has no anti-air capabilities.


Wild Weasel Config, single/double/triple armor
Rapier laser, soulcatcher, 1/2/3 x armor. Total cost = 2600 / 2950 / 3200 ej

This aerial sniper rig is great for taking out AAA, thus the name "Wild Weasel".



1 @ 2x4 bay, 2 hardpoints, available mission 15, cost 550 ej

Phoenix is the heavier version of Hornet, and is much better armed. With two hardpoints, you get double firepower. It also has excellent built-in armor, and can always fit some more shields and such. However, it is only available very late.

In general, it is better to have 1 Phoenix and 3 Hornets than 2 Phoenixes.



No device bay, 2 hardpoints, available mission 21, cost 350 ej

Not a heli but a true VTOL jet, the Vulture has no device bay, and thus no armor and no shields. It's only protection is SPEED and that's not good at all. Having no device bay also restricts it to ONLY be used via "direct control", so it's pretty much a suicide mission... Fly out there, and do
your job and hope nothing else requires your attention while you do it. In normal battles there is no place for it at all.

There are essentially four types of units: land combat units, amphibious combat units, air combat units, and utility units. This section is about utility units, the units that usually don't enter direct combat.

The hardpoints just means how many weapons you select will it carry. You cannot mix and match weapons (like 1 Longbow and 1 Scalpel).



1 @ 1x1 bay, 1 @ 3x3 bay, no hardpoint, available mission 1, cost 100 ej

Scarab with a Recycle unit will act as your harvester. Add Soulcatcher chip so it can harvest automatically.

Scarab with a Repair unit and Soulcatcher AI will automatically repair all friendlies in its sensor range.



N/A, N/A, available mission 7, N/A

Magpie is a VTOL lifter under a VERY dumb AI... It only knows how to lift from your carrier to the rally point. If you want to move things around or bring things back to ship, use Pegasus. However, it is FREE. If it was destroyed, it will be rebuilt by the next mission.

Remember to MOVE the rally point to get the most out of Magpie.



1 @ 1x2 bay, no hardpoint, available mission 1, cost 75 ej

Pegasus is a lifter that can move all sorts of things... Moving vehicles, bringing back debris for recycling, retrieve units for recycling, and so on. It is essential for your operation.

Remember, Pegasus can carry debris back for recycling. So carry one of those BIG pieces back (those that are worth 1000 ejs or more) for recycling at the carrier, and let the Scarab work on the smaller stuff.



2 @ 3x2 bays, one hardpoint, available mission 6, 400 ej

Sentinel is a stationary turret, best left on the carrier itself so it can engage incoming threats. Use the right weapon and you will be fine, but it also needs an AI.

In general, you want the Sentinel in the forward right or forward left bay. Just refuse the Magpie offer to move it, then "drag" the unit to the correct bay.

Sentinel can also be placed on top of a hill as a defense site. Magpie is pretty stupid so you may want to use a Pegasus to do this. And take manual control if need be.

Antaeus has only one live person onboard... You. Your assistants and briefers, Walker and Church, are at Minitech and are linked in by comm only.

The actual fighting is done by all the Soulcatcher profiles, or you in remote control of a vehicle via tele-presence. Think of them as "crew" if you like, but remember, they are not alive any more. So don't be afraid to lose them if the need arises. There's always another copy available
onboard.

All profiles have a specialty, which basically means they get a bonus for doing that particular thing. However, all profiles can do all things. They may complain a bit if you send them in a vehicle or weapon not to their liking, but they'll still do their job.


Available mission 2

Borden prefers attacking structures.

Borden prefers distance fighting (so give her Longbow instead of Scalpel).

Borden is probably best used in a Salamander or Shark, though she is quite capable in all vehicles.


Available mission 2

Patton prefers driving tanks, though he'll make do with any ground unit, or failing that, any vehicle.

Patton really likes Warhammer artillery. If you give him any other armament, he'll complain with epithets like "This is not a gun!" or "I've seen pea-shooters bigger than this!"


Available mission 2

Ransom prefers driving helicopters (Hornet or Phoenix).

Ransom prefers Scalpel, and gets up close and personal, but he'll make do with Longbow or Rapier. But he will get close to Scalpel range.

Ransom often chases AAA turrets, so make sure you pull him out of trouble when he gets into it.


Available mission 4

Kroker prefers Puma with cloak.

Kroker can serve as a Pegasus pilot, or even a general combat pilot if need be. However, he's not that good of a pilot.


Available mission 5

Korolev is best in a Scarab with a recycler, harvesting.

Keep Korolev out of fighting. Her Scarab has little/no armor. She's not much of a combat pilot either. She can be a generic pilot when things are tight.

BEWARE: Korolev sometimes wanders into battles, so make sure she stays clear of the battle area.


Available mission 6

Madsen is best with a Rapier sniping at enemy targets. He goes into hover and carefully aims... completely oblivious to proper dogfight techniques.

Madsen is okay in both ground and air units, with almost any weapon.

BEWARE: assign Madsen an escort so he doesn't get shot down while making a long-range kill


Available mission 11

Sinclair is only good for Sentinel defense turret.

In a tight situation he can work as a generic Longbow-equipped pilot.


Available mission 15

Lazare is good in both air and ground assaults. He prefers Phoenix chopper, though he can do as Shark or Rhino pilot as well.

BEWARE: watch Lazare as he often bites off more than he can chew


Available mission 19

Kenzie is best in a hovercraft, namely Salamander or Shark.


Available mission 20

Elroy likes tanks, bigger the better. Rhino's okay, Behemoth's the best.

This is just an excerpt, folks. In the full FAQ you will also find:

• Enemy units (all types)
  
• Enemy Structures
  
• Enemy defenses
  
• Combat tactics and strategies
  
• Resource management
  
• Full walkthru of every island, including some hints you can read first as not to spoil the entire mission

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/457632-hostile-waters-antaeus-rising/faqs/18505