Standard

Standard is a mode in Halo Wars multiplayer and Skirmish. As its name suggests, it is the standard mode of play in the game. The mode was featured again in Halo Wars 2, though renamed to Deathmatch.

Overview

In Standard, the objective is simple; destroy all bases belonging to the enemy team. Depending on game settings and map, teams can be 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3. All players start with one base, and if all a player's bases are destroyed, they have sixty seconds to claim a new one before they are defeated. All players start off with 800 and a tech level of 0, alongside a population cap of 30 (for UNSC players) or 40 (for Covenant players). The starting Firebase or citadel starts at its first upgrade level, with five potential build slots and four turret sites. Additionally, players start with a free scout unit - depending on the player's choice of Leader, this can be a Warthog (UNSC), Ghost (Arbiter or Prophet of Regret) or Chopper (Chieftain).

As the standard mode of play, players must manage resources by building supply pads or warehouses to increase supply, and reactors or temples to upgrade tech level and unlock access to more upgrades for buildings, leader powers and units. All trained units start with no upgrades but can be upgraded by spending resources as tech levels are advanced, with players becoming progressively more powerful as the game goes on. Unit upgrades are researched from their respective building (such as a barracks for Marines), while upgrades for base defense turrets and leader powers are researched from the UNSC Field Armory or Covenant temple.

Covenant vs. UNSC

To reflect the difference in doctrine between the efficient and highly trained UNSC vs. the Covenant's more brutal approach to warfare, the two factions have several major gameplay differences. Notably, the UNSC invest in new tech tiers by building and upgrading their reactors - when a reactor is destroyed, their tech level goes down one or two points (depending on the upgrade state of the reactor in question). On the other hand, the Covenant research technologies from the temple, which can be upgraded several times. Only one temple can be built at a time and if it is destroyed, all Covenant tech tiers are lost, though rebuilding the temple restores these tiers. The Covenant additionally get access to their Factory and Summit buildings from the game start allowing them to train vehicles and aircraft, while the UNSC equivalents the vehicle depot and air pad can only be constructed at tech level 2. Combined with the Covenant's 10 additional population over the UNSC, this allows the Covenant to invest in a playstyle more conductive to mass-armies.

Aside from faction, players have a choice of six different leaders to pick from. Each leader has an exclusive super unit, leader power set and economy bonus that can help influence playstyles.

To help acquire more supply, several neutral structures can be found on maps such as Supply crates, reactor sites for free technology advances and supply elevators that act as an additional supply pad. The latter two structures must be manned by an infantry unit, while the former acts as a resource that can be gathered by any scout unit.

Tips

• Almost all air and ground vehicles are more powerful than infantry.
• Never send in a Scarab without support on any difficulty above Normal or any Automatic difficulty above 56. Even your strongest units will fall if they have no support. And the support should be more than your Covenant leader.
• Make sure to upgrade your primary units.
• You'll need supplies to fulfill your objective.
• Beware the rebels - they guard all unclaimed sites.
• Extra Bases are a must.
• Make use of the extra structures on the map ( 1 to garrison):
  • Forerunner secondary reactors upgrade tech level at no supply cost
  • Forerunner supply elevators can replace supply pads or warehouses
  • Sniper Towers and cover greatly increase the range and damage resistance of garrisoned units.