Resources

Three sets of crates holding resources in Halo Wars.

Resources are a game mechanic in Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2. They consist of the raw resources need to built units, buildings, and upgrades, conduct research, and call in leader powers.

Halo Wars[edit]

In Halo Wars, there are three kinds of resource available in the game: Supply, Tech, and Population. Of these, Supply is the most important, and effectively serves the equivalent of money for the game, allowing players to purchase new units and buildings. Supply can be produced by constructing a Supply Pad or a Warehouse for a UNSC/Covenant player, respectively, or by finding and capturing a neutral Forerunner supply elevator present on the map. Supply can also be found in the form of blue crates scattered ambiently across the map at the start of the game. These crates can be captured by an infantry or scout unit, and only spawn either at the start of the match and when a neutral enemy base is defeated (either a Forerunner fort, Rebel base, or Flood colony). Some smaller Flood buildings may also drop Supply upon destruction including the Flood egg,

Tech and Population are less active resources that need to be actively managed like Supply and instead passive statistics that affect what kinds of units a player can build. Tech is a resource that is generated by the construction of UNSC Reactors, Covenant Temples, or the capture of Forerunner secondary reactors. Each reactor (or equivalent) building owned by the player raises their Tech level by 1. Various units, constructions and upgrades in the game require a minimum Tech level to purchase, making the construction and upgrade of reactors important. The player starts on 0, and only needs 4/ 3 (for the UNSC/Covenant, respectively) to be able to construct every single unit and every research upgrade in the game.

Population is a measure of the maximum size a player's army can reach. By default, UNSC players start with 30 and Covenant players 40. Every unit purchased in the game takes up a certain amount of Pop slots, with more powerful units requiring more. Population can be increased by researching an upgrade at a UNSC Field Armory/Covenant Temple to increase the limit by 10, with some maps additionally featuring a neutral Forerunner lifesupport pod that can add an extra 10, giving players a theoretical maximum Pop of 50 or 60 for UNSC/Covenant, respectively.

Halo Wars 2[edit]

Supply crates dropped from a Supply Silo in Halo Wars 2.

In Halo Wars 2, Supply and Population work in largely the same manner as they did in the first game. Supply can be acquired by constructing a UNSC Supply Pad or Banished Harvester or by scavenging crates found on the map. Population is a passive resource that can be upgraded at a UNSC Armory or a Banished War Council from a starting value of 80 to a maximum of 120

The biggest mechanical change in Halo Wars 2 is the change from Halo Wars' Tech to Power. Unlike Tech, Power is now an active resource which must be generated, spent, and managed similarly to Supply. Power can be generated from a UNSC Generator, Banished Power Extractor, or a capturable Forerunner Power Node. The status of Power as a useable resource like Supply also means that there are power crates that can be found and scavenged on the map.

In Halo Wars 2's campaign mode, Supply and Power crates can be dropped by finding and destroying a Banished Supply Silo or Power Silo.

A new resource added to Halo Wars 2 is the addition of Leader Points. These are a secondary currency passively accumulated throughout the game which allow a player to unlock various new leader powers.